Swiss scientists develop breath sensor to detect weight loss

[China Instrument Network Instrument Development] Expiratory alcohol detector is a common tool for testing drunk driving. Recently, Swiss researchers have developed a new type of sensor that can be used on similar breath detectors to monitor whether the body is burning fat in real time. This technology is expected to become a good helper for people to lose weight in the future.

(Image from the Internet, invaded)

The sensor, developed by the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich and the Zurich University Hospital, uses a chip of about 1 euro cent coin size and is covered with a porous film made of tungsten trioxide nano-semiconductor particles. Previous studies have found that when the atoms of these tungsten trioxide nanoparticles have a specific crystal structure, they interact with acetone, which reduces the resistance of this chip, and this phenomenon can be quantified.

Usually the human body consumes carbohydrates, sugars and fats during exercise, and acetone, a by-product of the burning of fat, is excreted through respiration.

The original intention of this study was to diagnose diabetes because the exhaled air in patients with type 1 diabetes was high in acetone. Researchers later discovered that the accuracy of this sensor is extremely high. As long as one acetone molecule out of hundreds of millions of molecules can be detected, it is only effective for acetone molecules. Therefore, it can even detect the very low acetone content in exhaled gases during exercise.

Related research has been published in the new issue of Analytical Chemistry in the United States. In the near future, the “Expiratory Weight Loss Tester” equipped with new sensors may inform people in real time how much exercise is needed to lose weight.

(Original Title: New Technology: Exhale to Detect Weight Loss)