Medical Design and Outsourcing

  • Home
  • Medical Device Business
    • Mergers & Acquisitions
    • Financial
    • Regulatory
  • Applications
    • Cardiovascular
    • Devices
    • Imaging
    • Implantables
    • Medical Equipment
    • Orthopedic
    • Surgical
  • Technologies
    • Contract Manufacturing
    • Components
    • Electronics
    • Extrusions
    • Materials
    • Motion Control
    • Prototyping
    • Pumps
    • Tubing
  • Med Tech Resources
    • DeviceTalks Tuesdays
    • Digital Editions
    • eBooks
    • Manufacturer Search
    • Medical Device Handbook
    • MedTech 100 Index
    • Podcasts
    • Print Subscription
    • The Big 100
    • Webinars / Digital Events
    • Whitepapers
    • Video
  • 2022 Leadership in MedTech
    • 2022 Leadership Voting!
    • 2021 Winners
    • 2020 Winners
  • Women in Medtech

Exhaled breath can identify bacterial infections: Here’s how

October 3, 2017 By Danielle Kirsh

breathing

[Image from unsplash.com]

Researchers at Radboud University have discovered a way to quickly detect bacterial infections using only exhaled breath.

Humans create ethylene, also known as a plant hormone, naturally as a result of oxidative stress caused by UV radiation and other things. The researchers discovered that ethylene is created when there is inflammation in the body and is quickly released when exhaling. The presence of ethylene in the breath can be a biomarker of bacterial infection, according to the researchers.

In a study, small amounts of ethylene were detected by laser spectroscopy. The ethylene was released as part of inflammation because of a bacterial infection. It was detected in blood leukocytes and in controlled studies with healthy volunteers.

The researchers suggest that ethylene forms as a product of respiratory burst, which is a key component of the immune system. The body releases reactive oxygen species when it needs to fight invading bacteria. Bacteria and tissues take damage during this process. When lipids go through oxidation in the cell walls, ethylene emanation occurs.

“Our results highlight that ethylene release is an early biomarker of bacterial infection. In humans, ethylene was detected at least half an hour earlier than the increase of blood levels of inflammatory cytokines and stress-related hormones. For patients in intensive care this could mean a difference between life and death,” said Simona Cristescu, a researcher in Radboud University’s Institute for Molecules and Materials, said in a press release.

Often times, doctors have to take wound culture samples, blood samples and urine samples to be able to detect a bacterial infection, all of which can be invasive to the patient.

This discovery could also enable continuous monitoring, according to the researchers. Breath samples are easy for both patients and physicians to gather for analysis.

“The first possible application I see is continuous monitoring of patients that are on artificial respiration. These people have an increased risk of dangerous infections, and because their breath is already going through a machine, it is easy to monitor it for ethylene,” Laurent Paardekooper, a researcher at the Radboud University medical center and first author of the research paper, said.

The research team started a spinoff company from Radboud University’s Trace Gas Facility. The company markets a small device that allows hospitals to analyze exhaled ethylene in real-time.

The research was published in the journal Scientific Reports.

[Want to stay more on top of MDO content? Subscribe to our weekly e-newsletter.]

Related Articles Read More >

A portrait of AcuityMD co-founder and CEO Michael Monovoukas
Device commercialization platform AcuityMD raises $31M Series A to fund R&D engineer hiring
Harvard Science and Engineering Complex SEC SEAS Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences
Here’s where Harvard’s engineering dean sees medtech research going
An illustration of a cloud-shaped room filled with medical devices
The cloud is transforming medtech: Amazon, Microsoft, Google, J&J, Philips and GE Healthcare leaders explain
MIT GI pressure detection device
MIT researchers think their tube-based device could improve gastrointestinal disorder diagnosis

DeviceTalks Weekly.

May 20, 2022
DeviceTalks Boston Post-Game – Editors’ Top Moments, Insulet’s Eric Benjamin on future of Omnipod 5
See More >

MDO Digital Edition

Digital Edition

Subscribe to Medical Design & Outsourcing. Bookmark, share and interact with the leading medical design engineering magazine today.

MEDTECH 100 INDEX

Medtech 100 logo
Market Summary > Current Price
The MedTech 100 is a financial index calculated using the BIG100 companies covered in Medical Design and Outsourcing.
DeviceTalks

DeviceTalks is a conversation among medical technology leaders. It's events, podcasts, webinars and one-on-one exchanges of ideas & insights.

DeviceTalks

New MedTech Resource

Medical Tubing

Enewsletter Subscriptions

Enewsletter Subscriptions

MassDevice

Mass Device

The Medical Device Business Journal. MassDevice is the leading medical device news business journal telling the stories of the devices that save lives.

Visit Website
MDO ad
Medical Design and Outsourcing
  • MassDevice
  • DeviceTalks
  • MedTech 100 Index
  • Medical Tubing + Extrusion
  • Drug Delivery Business News
  • Drug Discovery & Development
  • Pharmaceutical Processing World
  • R&D World
  • About Us/Contact
  • Advertise With Us
  • Subscribe to Print Magazine
  • Subscribe to E-newsletter
  • Attend our Monthly Webinars
  • Listen to our Weekly Podcasts
  • Join our DeviceTalks Tuesdays Discussion

Copyright © 2022 WTWH Media, LLC. All Rights Reserved. Site Map | Privacy Policy | RSS

Search Medical Design & Outsourcing

  • Home
  • Medical Device Business
    • Mergers & Acquisitions
    • Financial
    • Regulatory
  • Applications
    • Cardiovascular
    • Devices
    • Imaging
    • Implantables
    • Medical Equipment
    • Orthopedic
    • Surgical
  • Technologies
    • Contract Manufacturing
    • Components
    • Electronics
    • Extrusions
    • Materials
    • Motion Control
    • Prototyping
    • Pumps
    • Tubing
  • Med Tech Resources
    • DeviceTalks Tuesdays
    • Digital Editions
    • eBooks
    • Manufacturer Search
    • Medical Device Handbook
    • MedTech 100 Index
    • Podcasts
    • Print Subscription
    • The Big 100
    • Webinars / Digital Events
    • Whitepapers
    • Video
  • 2022 Leadership in MedTech
    • 2022 Leadership Voting!
    • 2021 Winners
    • 2020 Winners
  • Women in Medtech