Exhaled breath analysis method

Abstract

Handling of the condensate collecting vessel in conventional breath analysis apparatuses having a cold condensation mechanism is complicated, and time consuming. The present invention provides a method for analyzing exhaled breath using a breath analysis apparatus, the breath analysis apparatus including: a vessel; an injection port of the exhaled breath; an outlet port of the exhaled breath; a cooling unit; an electrode zone; a counter electrode zone; and a chemical substance detection unit, in which the exhaled breath contains water vapor and a volatile organic compound, the volatile organic compound having a molecular weight of no lower than 15 and no higher than 500, and the method for exhaled breath analysis comprising the steps of: injecting the exhaled breath from the injection port into the vessel; condensing the exhaled breath on the outer peripheral surface of the electrode zone by cooling the electrode zone with the cooling unit; forming charged fine particles from the condensed breath; recovering the charged fine particles into the chemical substance detection unit by an electrostatic force; and detecting the volatile organic compound included in the charged fine particles recovered.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.