Human exhaled breath for non-invasive disease detection

Abstract

Human exhaled breath contains many volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that reflect physiological and biochemical processes in the human body. Changes in VOC concentrations are associated with different diseases, including diabetes mellitus, respiratory diseases, liver diseases, and cancer. Therefore, breath analysis is a promising method for non-invasive disease detection.

We use infrared laser absorption spectroscopy based on a quantum cascade laser (QCL) for the analysis of human exhaled breath. The developed experimental setup consists of a broadband QCL operating in the mid-infrared spectral range and a Herriott multipass gas cell with an optical path length of 76 m. Such configuration provides high sensitivity for trace gas detection. The experimental setup was calibrated using certified gas mixtures. The obtained detection limits were 83.56 ppb for acetone, 75.93 ppb for ethanol, and 147.44 ppb for methanol, which are suitable for breath biomarker analysis.

A breath sampling and analysis protocol was developed and tested. Breath samples from healthy volunteers and patients were analyzed using the proposed method. The obtained results showed differences in the concentrations of several biomarkers between the studied groups. These results demonstrate that infrared laser spectroscopy is a promising tool for human breath analysis and can be used for non-invasive disease detection. The developed method has good potential for future clinical screening and routine medical practice.

Speaker

Olga Nebritova
Bauman Moscow State Technical University
Russia

Discussion

Ask question