This face mask can only detect kidney disease with your breath
Italian researchers have developed a surgical mask that can diagnose chronic kidney disease. It uses a sensor that identifies ammonia present in the respiratory of the kidney patient.
While regular surgical face masks can help prevent the spread of airborne pathogens, a new modified mask can also protect the wearer by detecting health conditions including chronic kidney disease.
Kidney removes waste products made by the body’s metabolic processes. But in the case of chronic kidney disease, these organs have been damaged and lose tasks over time, which can have a widespread impact on a person’s health.
Currently, medical professionals diagnosed the condition by measuring metabolites in blood or urine, but low cost, low-technical systems can make the process easier.
Published in the ACS sensor, the study has shown that the smart mask uses a small sensor placed between its layers to detect small molecules in a person’s breath. This molecule, called metabolites, is associated with chronic kidney disease. In early trials, the mask was capable of identifying people with high accuracy diseases.
Kidney patients are known to release more ammonia than healthy individuals. But ammonia may also appear in other diseases. Therefore, researchers led by Italy -based Electrical Engineer Korado de Natley wanted to create a sensor, especially detecting ammonia with other chemicals associated with chronic kidney disease.
To do this, they usually coat small silver electrodes with a polymer used in chemical sensors. This polymer was further enhanced with porpheirine, molecules that react with gases in the breath.
These coated electrodes were then added to the mask and connected to a small electronic reader.
When someone wears a mask, the gases interact with the sensor. This causes changes in electrical resistance, which helps detect chemicals such as ammonia, ethanol, prophen and acetone, which are all associated with chronic kidney disease.
The team tested the sensor on 100 people, half with kidney disease and half without. The mask correctly identified the chronic kidney disease in 84% of cases and correctly healthy it in 88% people who were healthy. It also promised to estimate the phase of chronic kidney disease.
According to the researchers, such breath-based, wearable sensors can make the diagnosis and monitoring of kidney disease easier, faster and more inexpensive.