A pioneering technique developed by scientists could help doctors detect respiratory diseases like asthma or cancer with a laser light.
A team at JILA, a joint institute of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the University of Colorado (CU) at Boulder have developed a technique called cavity-enhanced direct optical frequency comb spectroscopy that can detect molecules in the breath that may be indicators for diseases.
“This technique can give a broad picture of many different molecules in the breath all at once,” said Jun Ye, lead researcher.
While breathing we inhale a complex mixture of gasses including nitrogen, oxygen, carbon dioxide, and water vapour and also some traces of carbon monoxide, nitrous oxide, and methane that are potential biomarkers of disease.
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