September 2003
Prevention
Kasia Dawidowska

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Someday soon, the Breathmeter, an experimental laser test that reads the condition of your lungs the way a DVD player reads a music or video disc, could help your doctor assess levels of inflammation in your airways and prescribe the best dose of asthma-controlling medications.

How it works: Just exhale into a tube. Your breath is collected in a sampling chamber, where a laser light gauges levels of nitric oxide (NO). People with asthma generate NO at unusually high concentrations. High NO indicates that airways are inflamed and swollen. The Breathmeter is projected to be available by 2005.