Until now, a large mass spectrometer was needed to monitor fat metabolism. A new device, on the other hand, includes only three components: a lamp, a hollow optical fiber and a very small spectrometer. Everything becomes more compact and economical.
The device for measuring fat metabolism from breath uses an ultraviolet lamp to measure the acetone gas produced in the blood through the metabolic reaction of fat and then comes out with the breath. A great result of research by Tohoku University, Japan. The details of the study were published in the journal Sensors.
Precise measurements of the acetone gas concentration allow us to determine the body's ability to metabolize fat and develop exercise methods to burn fat efficiently
Yuji Matsuura, Tohoku University's Graduate School of Biomedical Engineering
And the light was
Matsuura and his team focused on ultraviolet light, which due to its extremely short wavelength is strongly absorbed by acetone gas. They managed to measure the concentration of acetone with high precision: 0,03 ppm, more than 30 times lower than the concentration of acetone in the breath.
To do this, they trapped the volunteers' breath in a thin tubular optical fiber (called hollow optical fiber) exposed to ultraviolet light. The team measured the degree of weakening of light due to the absorption of acetone gases to ascertain the concentration of acetone gas.
While using the device, the team found that the rate of fat burning gradually increases after exercise. In contrast, the rate of absorption remains constant during exercise, indicating that a substantial portion of fat metabolization occurs after physical exercise.
