The system could eventually offer real-time analysis of human breath to detect and monitor diseases.

View as a Web Page JILA's Comb Breathalyzer Is Now a Thousandfold More Sensitive to Disease Biomarkers JILA scientists have boosted the sensitivity of their decade-old frequency comb breathalyzer a thousandfold and can detect additional biomarkers of disease — four now, with the potential for six more. When validated and engineered into a portable design, the comb system could offer real-time, noninvasive analysis of human breath to detect and monitor diseases. JILA is jointly operated by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the University of Colorado Boulder. The JILA system "fingerprints" chemicals by measuring the colors and amounts of light absorbed as a laser frequency comb passes back and forth through breath samples loaded into a mirrored glass tube. Recent upgrades include a shift in the light spectrum analyzed from the near-infrared to the mid-infrared band, where more molecules absorb light, and advances in optical coatings and several other technologies to achieve detection sensitivity up to the parts-per-trillion level. Read More IN CASE YOU MISSED IT NIST Laser 'Comb' Systems Now Measure All Primary Greenhouse Gases in the Air June 30, 2021 Researchers at NIST have upgraded their laser frequency-comb instrument to simultaneously measure three airborne greenhouse gases — nitrous oxide, carbon dioxide and water vapor — plus the major air pollutants ozone and carbon monoxide. Read More

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