Inventors

Masaki Yumoto, Koji Miyazaki (Photonics Control Technology Team), Satoshi Wada (Advanced Photonics Technology Development Group)

Background

Multiple gas components are contained in human breath. The gases are correlative with several diseases and become biomarkers of the diseases. Quantitative analysis technology of the gases can be applied to breath diagnosis and health care. In addition, reduce of health-care cost is expected using the human breath analysis.

Summary

The biomarkers of the diseases in human breath exist as volatile organic compounds (VOCs). The VOCs show characteristic absorption spectrum in the mid-infrared (IR) region called finger-printed region of molecules. The use of mid-IR absorption spectroscopy method with narrowband mid-IR tunable lasers and multi-pass gas cell enables quantitative analysis of the VOCs. In addition, the quantitative analysis for multiple VOCs is realized by wavelength tuning of the mid-IR laser.

Merits

• Measurement of multiple gas components
• Trace gas analysis on the order of ppm and ppb
• Real-time monitoring

Applications

• Diagnosis of Diseases and Medical Examination by Breath Analysis
• Exhaust Gas Analysis of automobiles and Factories
• Environmental Monitoring of Plant Factories and the like

References

• 1. PCT/JP2014/004597