Validation Methane And Hydrogen Portable Breath Analyzer Aire2 Through Calibration Gases 

Fadeev Nikita is graduate student in Bauman MSTU, Biomedical technologies. Research interests include calibration devices and methods for medical breath tests. Krivetsky Valery is PhD in Chemistry, Senior Researcher of Department of Inorganic Chemistry, Lomonosov Moscow State University,. Research interests include semiconductor gas sensors developing. Oleg Medvedev MD, PhD, Professor, Faculty of Fundamental Medicine, Lomonosov Moscow State University. Research interests include effects of antioxidants on the cardiovascular and endocrine systems, analysis of the effects of exogenous and endogenous (from the gut microbiota) hydrogen.

Affiliations: Bauman Moscow State Technical University (BMSTU, Bauman MSTU), Moscow, Russia Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow, Russia

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OBJECTIVES: There is a portable analyzer AIRE2 (FoodMarble, Ireland) on the market, proposed for evaluation the fermentation activity of the gut microbiota by assessment the H2 and CH4 breath levels, but the vendor does not provide information on technical characteristics of the device, the algorithm for fermentation “Score” calculation, therefore it is not clear whether the measurements are correct and adequate. We did not find publications on the AIRE2 validation.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to validate¬ four AIRE2 devices using calibration H2 and CH4 gas mixes imitating their levels in human breath.

METHODS: Different gas concentrations of H2 and CH4 in the dry and 60% humidity air were produced by the gas flow mixing set-up. H2 (16, 27 and 81 ppm) and CH4 (11, 55 and 110 ppm) concentrations were used separately and in different combinations. Error of gas concentrations was checked by the GastroCH4eck breath monitor (Bedfont®, UK) and was within +/- 5%. 4 AIRE2 devices were calibrated in parallel using Bluetooth connected 3 iPhone and 1 Android smartphones with the mobile applications installed from the vendor’s site (www.foodmarble.com). All measurements were repeated 5 times for each gas mix. Result of each measurement was displayed on the smartphone as fermentation rate in proprietary units (“Score” from 1 to 10).

CONCLUSIONS: The modelling of the human breath air showed that AIRE2 devices have lower sensitivity to CH4 than to H2. Calculations of the fermentation “Scores” were more correct when estimated H2 concentration compared with different CH4 concentrations and did not correlate with equivalent amount of H2 produced in modelling breath in methane producing people.