Medical breakthrough : Breath tests to diagnose

Breath tests to diagnose major illnesses should be more widely used, university researchers said.
Staff at Swansea University are developing technology to enable patients to be given breath tests for diseases including diabetes, hepatitis and cirrhosis.
They say the method could save lives and money - and that patients could even self-diagnose at home with a shop-bought kit before seeing their GP.
Dr Masood Yousef, senior research assistant in the Welsh Centre for Printing and Coating at the university, said: "Breath samples are much easier to collect than blood and urine, for the patient as much as for the person collecting the sample. They can be collected anywhere by people with no medical training, and there are no associated biohazard risks.
"Overall, the procedure is likely to be much more cost effective than conventional methods, potentially saving the NHS a great deal of time and money. Someone could even buy a test at somewhere like Boots and be diagnosed at an early stage. There is great potential."
Dr Timothy Claypole, director of the Welsh Centre for Printing and Coating, said: "The work that we are doing now could well lead to the use of breath tests in routine medical examinations, long before patients show any physical symptoms. Ultimately, this technology will save lives. We're increasing its reliability, and increasing the range of diseases it can detect."
He said the new technology would make life easier for those with diabetes, who would not need to undergo as many blood tests if breath tests were available.
Studies have shown that high concentrations of certain compounds in a person's breath can indicate that they have a disease. The smell of pear drops is associated with diabetes, and ammonia is linked to hepatitis.
Dr Yousef added: "If unique markers for specific diseases can be recognised earlier than traditional techniques, then there is immense potential to revolutionise early disease diagnosis before any symptoms have developed, and without the need for invasive procedures."
The equipment used by the university was funded by a Welsh Assembly Government grant - initially given to research the level of solvents inhaled by workers who operate print machinery.