A Fitbit-like wearable device may soon help diagnose and treat asthma and other respiratory diseases, thanks to scientists who have developed a graphene- based sensor that can detect inflammation in lungs.
The sensor created by researchers at Rutgers University New Brunswick in the US could lead to earlier detection and management of looming asthma attacks, preventing hospitalisations and deaths. “Our vision is to develop a device that someone with asthma or another respiratory disease can wear around their neck or on their wrist and blow into it periodically to predict the onset of an asthma attack or other problems,” said Mehdi Javanmard, assistant professor at Rutgers.
The sensor paves the way for the development of devices — possibly resembling fitness trackers like Fitbit — which people can wear and then know when and at what dosage to take their medication, researchers said.
Today’s non-invasive methods for diagnosing and monitoring asthma are limited in characterising the nature and degree of airway inflammation, and require costly equipment that patients can’t keep with them, they said.
