There seems to be a lot of unique breathalyzers popping up lately. Recently at CES 2017, we covered the Breathometer that allows you to monitor your oral health using your breath, a small handheld device and your smartphone. Then of course you have the WearSmith, which is also a small device that fits in the palm of your hand, only that one helped you keep tabs on your BAC% (blood alcohol level). The latter of the two I don’t think ever made it past the Indiegogo stage. However, this new one takes the cake.
Perena Gouma, a scientist at the University of Texas at Arlington has developed a prototype that will actually detect the flu virus in your breath by blowing into it. Sounds a little too good to be true right? Well, it is true and they have indeed been working on a solution that uses sensors that can isolate flu-associated biomarkers and determine if a patient has the flu or not. She is looking to move towards creating a mobile-friendly end-user product that is both wireless and affordable, as well as available over the counter.
It doesn’t just stop there. Gouma stated, “I think that technology like this is going to revolutionize personalized diagnostics. This will allow people to be proactive and catch illnesses early, and the technology can easily be used to detect other diseases, such as Ebola virus disease, simply by changing the sensors.”
Pretty cool? We think so. I personally hope that her path towards achieving this dream is quickly fulfilled as this truly will “revolutionize” everything. I can’t wait for the technology to rear its head on store shelves. One more step towards that science-fictional world we have dreamed so much about all these years.
