A team of Indian scientists has revealed that a prototype of a hand-held breathalyser for detecting tuberculosis infection could be available within two years.
The team has won a $950,000 grant to build a prototype “electronic nose” by the end of 2013 that will detect the early stages of the respiratory disease, which claims nearly 1.7 million lives a year worldwide.
The TB breathalyser works by detecting the presence of about half a dozen biological chemicals in the air expelled from someone’s lungs.
This form a reliable signature of TB infection, said Peter Singer, chief executive of Grand Challenges Canada, which is part-funding the development with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
“The scientists have proven that patients with TB have a different signature on their breath compared with people who do not. Now they are validating it and putting it into a machine,” the Independent quoted Dr Singer as saying.
The team has won a $950,000 grant to build a prototype “electronic nose” by the end of 2013 that will detect the early stages of the respiratory disease, which claims nearly 1.7 million lives a year worldwide.
The TB breathalyser works by detecting the presence of about half a dozen biological chemicals in the air expelled from someone’s lungs.
This form a reliable signature of TB infection, said Peter Singer, chief executive of Grand Challenges Canada, which is part-funding the development with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
“The scientists have proven that patients with TB have a different signature on their breath compared with people who do not. Now they are validating it and putting it into a machine,” the Independent quoted Dr Singer as saying.
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