It was possible to test 8 types of cancer and 9 other diseases with just one breath

The smell of breath was used to diagnose, from about 400 BC.

Recently, a group of scientists from Technion Institute of Technology, Israel invented a breath test device . It allows to detect traces of 17 different diseases.

Using a nanotechnology sensor, the new device is considered a breakthrough. Although the idea is not new, this is the first and only breath test device capable of distinguishing a wide range of diseases: from cancer, inflammatory diseases to a neurological disease like Parkinson's.

Since ancient times, about 400 BC, medical practitioners have learned to diagnose with the smell of volatile Organic Compounds (VOC) , identify through breaths, or even is the daily waste of patients.

"For example, feces and urine of babies born in aristocratic families have been smelt daily by physicians," the research team wrote in the report.

A breath can be used to identify 17 diseases.

Looking back at that way at the present time, it must have become extremely manual and outdated. However, the principle of identifying diseases through VOC compounds is still valid. The research team at the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology therefore wants to improve its method of implementing it. They created a device capable of searching for "footprints of disease" in the breath.

Contrary to the simple things people often think: When breathing, we don't just breathe in oxygen and exhale carbon dioxide. The air mix will consist of a large portion of nitrogen that few people notice. In addition to more than 100 volatile organic compounds VOC always circulates into your airways.

The amount and composition of breathing VOC compounds depends on the health of each person. That means that by analyzing them, doctors will get a basis for diagnosing illnesses. Or at least, it's an initial warning sign that you need to do follow-up tests.

Saying that because breath analysis is a much easier way than analyzing other body fluids, including many common testing methods that you often encounter: from blood tests, urine to biopsy. . The research team wrote in the report:

"In the form of body secretions, breath is a source of VOC compounds that we most easily check if you want to monitor your health and disorders in the body. The reason because breathing can collected very easily and through non-invasive approaches ".

Breath testing is not new, but for the first time a device has the ability to distinguish a broad spectrum of disease.

To make the device, the team had to create a gas sensor with a very high resolution and must be particularly sensitive. It has the ability to detect low concentrations of VOC compounds , to indicate which compounds in the breath will correspond to which diseases.

The device with this sensor has been tested in a large group of patients. A total of 2,808 breath samples were collected from 1,404 subjects. In this group, there are completely healthy people and people with one of 17 different diseases.

They are classified into 3 main types: cancer, neuropathy and inflammatory disease. Another special group outside is non-classified diseases. And of course, there is a healthy group of people as completely as they said.

As a result, the researchers found that each of the 17 diseases left a characteristic "footprint" in their breath. It consists of 13 different types of volatile organic compounds, combined in separate proportions.

Measurements, therefore, can correctly determine if someone has one of the 17 diseases. These include 8 types of cancer: lung cancer, colorectal cancer, head and neck cancer, ovary, bladder, prostate, kidney and stomach.

The device is capable of identifying 8 types of cancer and 9 other diseases.

In addition, 9 other diseases that the breath test device can detect are: Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis, irritable bowel syndrome, idiopathic parkinsonism, atypical parkinsonism, multiple sclerosis, hypertension Universal artery, pre-eclampsia and chronic kidney disease.

The researchers say the device is also capable of detecting multiple diseases in the same patient, even if it was a disease that happened before but the trace remains in the breath.

Of course, with a breakthrough medical diagnostic device, this is just an initial test. Researchers will have to continue working if they want to produce a more precise device, diagnose more diseases.