Diagnosing Diabetes and Liver Disease with Just a Simple Breath A study by Dr. Saran Kumar K and Prof. Nilesh J. Vasa from the Department of Engineering Design, Prof. Satyanarayanan Seshadri from the Department of Applied Mechanics, and Prof. Shiva Nagendra SM from the Department of Civil Engineering at @iitmadras, in collaboration with Dr. Ramya Selvaraj from NIT Raipur, and clinicians Dr. MullaiEzhili Manoharan, Dr. Dinesh Jothimani, and Dr. Mohamed Rela from the Institute of Liver Disease and Transplantation, Dr. Rela Institute & Medical Center, Chennai, demonstrates a noninvasive diagnostic approach based on human exhaled breath (HEB) analysis. As metabolic byproducts circulate through the bloodstream and reach the lungs, they are released during breathing, making breath a rich and accessible source of clinical information. The study explores breath acetone as a biomarker for diabetes and breath ammonia as an indicator of liver disorders. To overcome the limitations of bulky conventional gas-sensing methods, the team developed a laser-based Quartz-Enhanced Photoacoustic Spectroscopy (QEPAS) system using a quantum cascade laser, enabling highly sensitive detection from very small breath samples. The study demonstrated simultaneous and accurate detection of acetone and ammonia, with results closely matching blood tests. This compact, fast, cost-effective, and painless approach shows strong potential as an alternative to invasive diagnostics, offering a scalable solution for future clinical screening and disease monitoring. Source: IIT Madras