Your 'breathprint' could be used to detect diseases in the future.
If a group of Zurich scientists’ studies pan out, your doctor could be handing you a cup and just asking you to breathe in it.
The researchers believe that your breath could hold evidence of illness.
Using a mass spectrometer, they’ve already determined that each individual has a unique “breathprint”. The machine isolates and measures molecules and allowed the team to identify consistent chemical patterns in each of its 11 volunteers.
They’re not at the sickness-finding stage yet but plan to embark upon further studies that will specifically search for anomalies linked to lung disease.
Other labs and scientists are looking into the possibilities, too. Cleveland’s Dr. Raed Dweik said, "Anything you can have a blood test for, there is potentially a breath test for, as long as there is a volatile component."
Breath testing is also attractive because it has the potential to be faster, less obtrusive, and lower in cost than current means.
The idea that a person’s breath can hold clues to their larger health picture dates back to 400 BC. That was when Hippocrates wrote his treatise on the relationships between breath aroma and disease.
