Credit: N. Hanacek/NIST
GAITHERSBURG, Md. — The U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has signed a cooperative research and development agreement (CRADA) with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to begin creating standards and testing protocols for a new generation of breathalyzers that can diagnose malaria and tuberculosis (TB).
Under the CRADA, NIST researchers will launch a new effort to develop tools and techniques for ensuring that the breathalyzers are accurate and reliable, which will be vital should they come to market and be deployed throughout the developing world.
Several manufacturers and universities are developing breathalyzers for malaria and TB, which are among the leading causes of death worldwide. But according to NIST materials research engineer Kavita Jeerage, breath-based diagnostics may soon be used to identify or monitor the progression of a wide range of conditions and diseases, including liver disease, multiple sclerosis and cancer.
“We are thrilled to be participating in this global effort to develop new breath tests for infectious disease,” Jeerage said. “Through this partnership, we will lay the groundwork to ensure the highest levels of accuracy and efficacy for the next generation of breathalyzers.”
Malaria and TB are the cause of death for about 2 million people each year. Medical professionals typically diagnose malaria through a blood test and TB by taking a sample of sputum (cough mucus).
Both procedures can be costly and require access to technical equipment and often a laboratory for processing samples. In addition, certain strains of the malaria parasite have evolved and can escape detection.
In recent years, scientists have begun identifying biomarkers in human breath — a so-called breathprint — that indicate when someone's been infected by malari ..
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