Breathalyzers

Many people still often wear masks, either to keep from spreading viruses that they've got, or to manage a respiratory problem. An experimental new mask takes things a step further, by analyzing its wearer's breath to check their state of health.

No matter how hard we may try, we can't really tell if we've got bad breath – and asking someone else to sniff our breath for us can be awkward. It's now possible that before too long, however, a portable "thumb-size" device could let us know.

Although breathalyzers have been used to check drivers' blood alcohol levels for decades now, the things do have their drawbacks. In the near future, however, police officers and others may get better results using a simple strip-type test kit.

​The sooner that you know you've got the flu, the sooner you can stop spreading it and start treating it. That's the thinking behind a new device designed by Prof. Perena Gouma. Her hand-held breath monitor can detect if the user has the flu, based on a single exhale.

​Ordinarily, diabetes is diagnosed via painful and invasive blood tests. If research currently being performed at the University of Oxford is anything to go by, however, patients may soon just have to blow into a reusable breathalyzer-like device.

A new kind of smart key could help drivers make a very important decision not to drive when they've had too much to drink.

Working in partnership with an industry consortium, the NHTSA has unveiled a test-car designed to help it fine-tune driver interactions with potentially life-saving anti drunk-driving innovations.

Most of the various new portable breathalyzers involve placing your lips against the device every time you use it. Lapka's Breath Alcohol Monitor (BAM), however, simply requires you to blow into your clenched hand.

A team from the University of Huddersfield in the UK is developing a lung cancer breath test and plans to trial it in pharmacies in the South East of England. The goal is to detect the disease in its early stages to improve the chance of survival.

Researchers have developed a portable sensor that analyzes a person's breath to detect if their body is burning fat. Its creators say the device could let users know if that exercise regime is actually working and help diabetics and those trying to lose weight manage their daily diet.

The Kisai Intoxicated watch from Tokyoflash has a built-in breathalyzer to give your blood alcohol content – for entertainment purposes.

The BreathalEyes app for iPhone uses the smartphone's camera to detect and measure involuntary eye movement, and then offers an approximate blood alcohol content reading.