It took Nobel Prize-winning scientific work to make the bacteria Helicobacter pylori famous. Able to survive in the highly acidic environment of the stomach, it has been found to be the common cause of many peptic ulcers, so detecting its presence can help prevent and treat a disease that affects approximately 4.5 million people in the United States annually.
We’ve been following the BreathID device from Exalenz Bioscience for a few years now (flashbacks below) as it’s been going through clinical trials, and now the company is reporting that its BreathID Hp test for H. pylori is now being made available globally. The test takes about fifteen minutes and first involves sampling of unadulterated breath followed by the patient drinking a beverage containing non-radioactive, stable Carbon-13. The test is completed by taking multiple samples of exhaled breath and detecting 13CO2. Depending on the presence of H. pylori, the concentrations vary and results are displayed on the device’s readout screen.
Press release: Exalenz Bioscience Announces the Global Market Launch of the New BreathID® Hp for Detection and Management of H. pylori