Tag: exhaled breath

Researchers at the University of Oxford have developed a new, portable breath analyser that could someday help doctors diagnose diabetes without painful pinpricks, needles or other unpleasant methods. Many studies examining the hallmarks of diabetes in exhaled breath have shown that elevated levels of acetone are strongly linked to diabetes. Detecting the concentrations of any given substance in breath in a simple way, however, is a major challenge. Breath contains a complex mix of compounds, including water, carbon dioxide and methane, that can throw results off. A technique called mass spectrometry can do the job, but it is not very practical for point-of-care testing. Robert Peverall from University of Oxford and colleagues wanted to fill that void. The researchers created a hand-hel...