Breathalyzers get a bad rap because most of us associate them with tipsy drivers and DUI's. California-based, medical technology company, Metabolomx, has a different perspective, and it's one that could breathe new life into early disease detection processes. Their mission is to sniff out killers like lung cancer, by capturing and analyzing patients' breath. Sound like the plot of a movie? The National Cancer Institute doesn't think so. In October 2011, they bestowed a million-dollar grant for research and development.
So how does it work?
This technology collects the patient's breath for about five minutes, grabbing air from specific portions of the natural breathing cycle. It then filters out molecular components in the breath, leaving a molecular fingerprint for physicians to sample. Paul Rhodes, CEO of Metabolomx says, "…the pattern of small-molecule metabolites produced by active tumors can be observed in exhaled breath." So what does that mean in laymen's terms? These special breathalyzers can "smell" certain diseases by detecting molecules associated with them, even specific strains. Existing upper respiratory infections are found at the beginning of the breath collection cycle, while lung cancer is detected at the end.
What does this mean?
Higher accuracy: It's not a cure but this breakthrough is significant for many reasons. First, and what amazes me most is the accuracy. CT scans and biopsies aren't always conclusive. I've learned from painful, personal experience with grandfather's cancer struggles, doctors can misdiagnose cancer. It's often sneaky and hard to detect accurately. So far, the accuracy rate with this technology is over 80 percent -- astounding in the medical world.
Less recovery time: Unlike my grandfather, I won't have to rely on surgical procedures to determine if certain diseases are present. The process takes less than half an hour and recovery time is zero! That's much better than missing weeks of work or months of your life.
Less expensive: Your life might depend on them but that doesn't make the normal diagnostic procedures less expensive. Bulky, massive CT machines cost close to $10K and surgery costs are unpredictable. Physicians are hoping that Metabolomx 's breath analysis instrument can bring down the cost curve and make detecting cancer less of a financial burden for patients. The machine is simple to use, techs aren't required - also a cost cutter!
The sky could be the limit with this new technology. Imagine walking into the doctor's office with your crying toddler and leaving with an accurate cold/flu/strep diagnosis without undergoing screaming shot fests. That's a day at the doctor's office I could live with.
