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Laser light may be used to diagnose diseases
By Ben Wasserman
Feb 19, 2008 - 12:54:18 PM

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Caption: University of Colorado at Boulder physics doctoral student Michael Thorpe holds a detection chamber next to a novel laser apparatus at JILA. Thorpe and JILA's Jun Ye led a new study showing how scientists can use laser light to detect faint breath molecules that may be biomarkers for disease. Credit: JILA, NIST, University of Colorado at Boulder

TUESDAY FEB 19, 2008 (Foodconsumer.org) -- A study by scientists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology and the University of Colorado at Boulder showed a laser comb may be used in the future to diagnose a whole range of diseases or conditions including asthma, gastrointestinal diseases and cancer to name a few by simply analyzing molecules in one's breath.

The so-called optical frequency comb spectroscopy after laser light bombasts a breath sample collected in the "tube" is able to identify thousands of individuals molecules simultaneously that may be biomarkers for certain diseases, according to the study published in the Feb. 18 online edition of Optics Express, the free, open-access journal published by the Optical Society of America.

Jun Ye, a fellow of JILA and NIST and lead author of the study said laser light can detect and distinguish specific molecules based on vibration and rotation patterns of different molecules at certain distinct resonant frequencies depending upon their composition and structure.

Individual molecules at certain levels or a pattern of certain molecules may suggest a condition.  For instance, the University of Colorado cited Ye as saying "excess methylamine may signal liver and kidney disease, ammonia may be a sign of renal failure, elevated acetone levels can indicate diabetes and nitric oxide levels can be used to diagnose asthma."

The technology needs to be trialed before used clinically for diagnosis of a particular disease.  The researchers tested the comb on breath samples from a few students and detected some molecules such as ammonia, carbon monoxide and methane.