Tips for Healthy Breathalyzers: Gates Foundation Collaboration

Collaboration for Developing New Breathalyzers

The U.S. Department of Commerces National Institute of Standards and Technology ( NIST ) has signed a cooperative research and development agreement ( CRADA ) with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to create standards and testing protocols for breathalyzers that can diagnose malaria and tuberculosis . NIST researchers will develop tools for ensuring the breathalyzers are accurate . Several manufacturers are working on breathalyzers for various diseases , including liver disease and cancer . These breath tests could replace costly blood tests and sputum samples currently used for diagnosis.

Partnership with the Food and Drug Administration

NIST will collaborate with the Food and Drug Administration ( FDA ) to ensure the accuracy and reliability of the new breathalyzers . The Gates Foundation is providing a million grant for this two - year project . NIST will focus on testing equipment to benchmark the breathalyzers ' performance and create gas mixtures for accuracy testing . Researchers have identified volatile organic compounds in human breath that can indicate illness or health conditions . The goal is to develop technologically advanced breathalyzers capable of detecting multiple biomarkers in breath.

The FDA 's device center has also partnered with the Gates Foundation to support diagnostic development for breath - based devices . Using a .9 million grant , new analytical methods will be created to detect diseases in underserved populations . The goal is to develop affordable tests for rural and remote areas where complex instruments are not easily accessible . This collaboration aims to improve disease detection in medically underserved populations both in the U.S. and overseas.

Improving Disease Detection in Underserved Populations

The collaboration between the FDA and the Gates Foundation will focus on identifying multiple chemicals or biomarkers in complex mixtures . By developing and validating a database of breath samples from healthy individuals and those infected with tuberculosis , diagnostic biomarkers for TB can be identified . This will facilitate the development of next - generation diagnostic devices for use by clinicians and consumers at the point of care and in the home . The initiative also includes the creation of a database of chemical information and criteria for classifying confidence in chemical identification.

Improving tuberculosis detection has been a long - standing goal of the Gates Foundation . The nonprofit has provided funding for grants focused on finding TB diagnostic biomarkers in low - resource settings . The limitations of existing lab - based TB technology have led to millions of cases going undiagnosed or unreported . By developing accurate and reliable breathalyzers , the hope is to improve disease detection and diagnosis in underserved populations globally.