Los Angeles Times Examines New Diagnostic Breath Tests Used for Early Detection of TB, Other Diseases

The Los Angeles Times on Monday examined how a range of new diagnostic breath tests might make detecting diseases such as tuberculosis as "simple as exhaling." Breath sensors already are used to detect conditions such as asthma and ulcers, and some scientists say that handheld devices soon will be used routinely for the early detection of TB, diabetes, preeclampsia and various cancers. A device invented by New York Medical College internist Michael Phillips and manufactured by Menssana Research is being used in a TB clinical trial funded by NIH that eventually will involve 3,000 participants in the U.S., United Kingdom, Mexico and the Philippines. Current TB tests are expensive, unreliable and time consuming, according to Antonino Catanzaro, a researcher at the University of California-San Diego who is involved in the trial. "The idea of a breath test is appealing because it is inexpensive and taking a sample is simple," Catanzaro said (Marsa, Los Angeles Times, 12/19).