Imagine if instead of a finger prick, you could measure your blood glucose with a puff of breath. The potential of such technology is enormous, going far beyond what would clearly be an improvement in the lives of people with diabetes. But because of its complexity, breath analysis of something as complicated as blood glucose has remained out of reach. With help from an ADA research grant, University of California–Irvine scientist is hoping to change that.
He's looking for ways to detect changes in blood glucose levels in the breath using technology originally developed to sense chemicals in the atmosphere. If he can prove the technique works, he hopes the private industry can refine it and make breath-based glucose monitors a reality in the next 20 years. "Gases have for decades been courted by researchers," Galassetti says. "If we could find them, it would be the holy grail—it's very…
