How many times have you avoided medical checkups because you were afraid of needles? Your phobia could soon become a thing of the past. A team from the University of Chicago has developed a device that diagnoses diseases simply by analyzing your breath. It's called able and it works like a breathalyzer for health: you blow into a tube and in 15 minutes you get results as accurate as a blood test. The breath test detects glucose, bacteria, viruses and biomarkers in the air we exhale every day. Compact size, affordable cost and zero invasiveness are about to change the way of making diagnoses forever.
A concentrator of invisible signals
Bozhi Tian and his team have solved the thorniest problem in respiratory diagnostics: the biomarkers in the air are incredibly diluted. We're talking about concentrations of one part per trillion, almost impossible to detect with traditional technologies.
ABLE overcomes this obstacle condensing exhaled air into concentrated liquid droplets. The device sucks in breath through a pump, adds water vapor through a humidifier, and cools the mixture to cause condensation. The air molecules are then transformed into liquid samples that can be tested with standard test strips.
The system measures 10 by 20 centimeters and costs less than 200 euros. In ten minutes it collects about a milliliter of condensate, enough for multiple analyses. The internal surface has microscopic silicon spikes that facilitate molecular condensation, while advanced software manages the entire collection and concentration process.
From Glucose to Viruses: Practical Applications of Breath Testing
The researchers tested ABLE on several fronts. The most significant experiment involved the glucose detection in human breath, confirming precise correlations with blood sugar levels. This opens up interesting scenarios for diabetics, that could monitor blood sugar without daily pricks.
But ABLE goes beyond diabetes. The team tested the device on “humanized” lab mice with microbes from premature and full-term babies. Breath tests detected different concentrations of glycosphingolipids, molecules that regulate inflammation. The “premature” mice showed higher levels, suggesting potential applications in noninvasive neonatal monitoring.
From research to hospital wards
The inspiration for ABLE came during a visit to Tian at the neonatal intensive care unit at Children's Hospital Chicago. Erika Claud, head of neonatology, wanted analysis methods that did not stress the little patients.
“Premature babies are among the most vulnerable patients we treat in medicine,” explains Claud. “The promise of this technology is to be able to track newly identified biomarkers to optimize care.”
The device has demonstrated the ability to detect airborne pollen allergens and even bacteria E. coli aerosolized air, such as that found near toilets after flushing. These features could transform ABLE into an ambient air quality monitor, not just a personal diagnostic tool.
The challenges that remain in the breath test
Despite the promising results, the Chicago team admits significant limitations. The complete mapping of volatile organic compounds linked to specific diseases still requires years of research. There are databases with 327 different respiratory compounds potentially linked to diseases, but the correlations require extensive clinical validation.
The researchers are collaborating with physicians specializing in inflammatory bowel disease to identify respiratory biomarkers of inflammation. In parallel, they are working on miniaturizing the device to make it wearable and commercializing it through industrial partnerships.
ABLE is a concrete step towards non-invasive medicine. As I underlined in this article on medical innovations, portable devices are democratizing access to diagnosis. Breath testing could soon transform clinics, hospitals, and homes into continuous health monitoring centers, eliminating barriers and anxieties associated with traditional methods.
