A breath monitoring device is a portable electronic device that analyzes a user’s exhaled breath to provide information about the body or its surroundings. The technology is being developed as an alternative to blood testing, with much potential for non-invasive diagnosis and self-testing applications and use in environmental monitors and personal security devices.
The technology is being developed to have the potential for non-invasive diagnosis and self-testing applications and used in environmental monitors and personal security devices.
Various instruments are available that can analyze breath samples in different ways, dependent upon the intended application of the device. Electronic and software approaches to analyzing the exhaled chemicals and gases, all of which serve to diagnose or monitor a physical condition or substance; however, they vary in their ability to be used as a personal device, and some require extensive training for correct use.
Monitoring devices measure one or more: volatile organic compounds (VOCs), oxygen, carbon dioxide (CO), carbon monoxide (CO), hydrogen, methane (CH), nitric oxide (NO), nitrogen dioxide (NO), sulfur dioxide (SO).
The technology can diagnose and monitor chronic diseases through breath samples accurately non-invasively. This test can be performed at home without consulting a doctor or in clinical practices without expensive equipment. It is also possible to monitor the progress of patients and prescribe medication and/or diet management.
The breath test has been used by researchers for diagnosis and monitoring chronic diseases including asthma, cancer (lung), heart failure, diabetes mellitus, kidney disease, liver failure.
In cases where exposure cannot be diagnosed using blood samples, it would involve too many invasive procedures over a long period or exposure is difficult to track through bodily secretions. Breath testing offers a non-invasive alternative that can be used in a home or clinical setting for regular monitoring. In addition to diagnosing conditions through analysis of exhaled chemicals or gases, breath testing can help identify exposure to chemical substances and give away to assess health changes due to therapy or other lifestyle factors such as diet.
Tips to buying breath monitoring device
1. Analysis of the chemicals in breath, their concentrations, and ratios to each other provide information about a user’s state of health.
2. The device should provide information about the body or its surroundings in an accurate, convenient, and fast way for users who cannot use blood or saliva samples due to infections, diseases, or conditions that require self-testing at home or monitoring over time.
3. Different devices are suitable depending on intended application; personal breath monitors (home testing) must be simple, easy to learn how to use and maintain, cost-effective to buy and operate; testing at clinics requires more accuracy; environmental testing requires detection of less concentrated substances without interference from ambient air; security applications need quick analysis with minimal input from a user.
4. Portability of the device is important for home testing; some devices require the use of a laptop; portability is also required for environmental and security tests to be carried out on-site.
5. Devices should provide accurate results in the expected time frame: breath tests take about 20 minutes, requiring a time window of 5–15 minutes post-ingestion or inhalation; this may vary depending on the substance being tested; there is no consistent timeframe between different devices and tests.
6. Testers must be able to distinguish between success rate in analysis (percentage) and accuracy in analysis (how many units are present in the sample). Accuracy can be affected by variables such as temperature, humidity, altitude, etc.; devices with long processing time can be accurate but not suitable for personal use.