Breakthrough AI-Powered Device that can ‘Smell’ Diseases is disrupting the Healthcare Industry

Humans breathe approximately 25,000 times a day, yet within each breath lies untapped health data that a Canada-based promising startup aims to decode with their innovative handheld device. Meet the DiagNoze, a portable diagnostic tool can ‘smell’ diseases simply by analyzing your breath. The device reads volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in exhaled air, identifying biomarkers for various conditions including tuberculosis (TB). By identifying these compounds with impressive accuracy, DiagNoze offers real-time, portable diagnostics that are accessible almost anywhere, addressing critical healthcare gaps in both developed and underserved regions. The device integrates next-generation machine intelligence with NASA-derived sensor technology, delivering quick and cost-effective health insights where traditional diagnostics fall short due to high costs and slow processing.

Designer: Noze

While the most common use of breathalyzers has been to detect alcohol levels, this device can identify diseases simply by scanning your breath.

DiagNoze’s compact design and ease of use make it a practical solution for healthcare settings with limited resources. In regions where access to timely testing is scarce, the device’s rapid diagnostics can lead to earlier interventions, improving patient outcomes and reducing the spread of diseases. The company’s mission received a significant boost through additional funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, bringing their total grant to $1.8 million. This investment will support a clinical study aimed at using DiagNoze to detect TB in high-burden countries, directly contributing to global efforts to curb the spread of this deadly disease, which claims 1.3 million lives annually.

Looking ahead, Noze envisions DiagNoze becoming a staple in everyday healthcare, where real-time health monitoring is as routine as a checkup. The device’s ability to offer actionable insights from a simple breath could revolutionize diagnostics, moving us toward a proactive healthcare model focused on prevention and early detection… quite literally a breath of fresh air in the medical industry, if you ask me!

The post Breakthrough AI-Powered Device that can ‘Smell’ Diseases is disrupting the Healthcare Industry first appeared on Yanko Design.

Could a breathalyzer detect COVID-19? Northumbria University is working on one that might

Scientists at Northumbria University, Newcastle upon Tyne, are working on a device that could revolutionize the way we diagnose patients for the novel coronavirus. They say that this new method could vastly speed up the testing procedure and could replace the less-than-effective current method of testing with an infrared thermometer. If successful, the device could find widespread application in airports, GP surgeries, pharmacies, and ambulances, allowing medical personnel to quickly and effectively test potential cases of the virus in a matter of minutes.

Led by Northumbria University associate professor Dr. Sterghios Moschos, the test device collects breath samples to detect the virus, and is less prone to contamination and false-negative results. The way the device works is somewhat similar to how a breathalyzer detects alcohol in exhaled air. Instead of scanning the air for ethanol, the device works by picking up biological information from the breath sample, known as biomarkers. If it detects biomarkers such as DNA, RNA, proteins, or lipids, it indicates that the lung may potentially be infected with a disease. The World Health Organization is currently recommending testing patients using nasal swabs, oral swabs, and lung swabs (collected when a patient coughs up mucus). Dr. Moschos and his team believe the ‘virus-detecting breathalyzer’ would, simply put, work better at collecting swab samples because all exhaled breath is circulated via the lungs.

Experts even say the new technology, if perfected, could have a massive impact on healthcare globally not just by allowing people to detect viral illnesses faster, but also as a means to diagnose other respiratory illnesses, including lung disease, liver issues, diabetes, cancers, brain, and aging diseases.

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Honda & Hitachi Breathalyzer for Car Smart Keys: Keytotaler

These days, you can have a breathalyzer installed in your car, but someday the life-saving device may be able to warn you while you’re still at the party. Honda and Hitachi say they’re working on a breathalyzer that’s compact enough to be integrated into a car’s smart key. Although right now all they have is a prototype that looks like the beacon that turns you into Ultraman.

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Like in-car breathalyzers, this compact device can be used as an ignition interlock, i.e. it can prevent your car from starting if the measured alcohol level passes safe levels. Honda and Hitachi also said that their device is harder to fool, thanks to a sensor that detects if the applied gas coming into the breathalyzer is human breath.

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The companies will show off the breathalyzer’s prototype at the SAE International World Congress on April 12-14.

[via Honda]