Non-Invasive Colorimetric Breath Acetone Sensor for Metabolic Rate Analysis

Realtime understanding of one’s complete metabolic state is crucial to controlling weight and managing chronic illnesses, such as diabetes. This project represents the development of a novel breath acetone sensor within the Biodesign Institute’s Center for Bioelectronics and Biosensors. The purpose is to determine if a sensor can be manufactured with the capacity to measure breath acetone concentrations typical of various levels of metabolic activity. For this purpose, a solution that selectively interacts with acetone was embedded in a sensor cartridge that is permeable to volatile organic compounds. After 30 minutes of exposure to a range of acetone concentrations, a color change response was observed in the sensors. Requiring only exposure to a breath, these novel sensor configurations may offer non-trivial improvements to clinical and at-home measurement of lipid metabolic rate.