New ‘breath-taking’ technology helping patients lose weight

A technology created by Arizona State University (ASU) is helping patients overcome challenges on their weight loss journey.

Erica Forzani, a professor at ASU’s School for Engineering of Matter, Transport and Energy, joined “Arizona Horizon” to discuss the technology.

The device is called “Breezing.” It analyzes a patient’s metabolism in a way that standard lines of questioning are not able to. With the data that is collected, doctors are able to create more personalized care plans for weight loss.

“…just breathe and we will know how many kilocalories per day you could eat in order to maintain, lose, or gain weight,” Forzani said. “…so we can prescribe, personalize caloric intake based on the measurement of metabolism.”

Photos courtesy of School for Engineering of Matter, Transport and Energy at ASU

The “Breezing” device has been cleared by the Food and Drug Administration in the U.S. and by the European Union. They are now looking further to help address obesity in other countries.

“It’s really a breath-taking device,” Forzani said. The device uses indirect calorimetry to accurately measure metabolism and does so by analyzing your oxygen consumption and your carbon dioxide production.

To utilize the device, the patient would strap the device to their face and breathe for roughly ten minutes. After the period has ended, the doctor would be able to determine whether the patients metabolism is too low, high, or normal.

“Based on that metric, the doctor,” Forzani said, “…can prescribe how many kilocalories per day you should be eating to reach your target weight.”

Forzani emphasized how the device will be able to show the primary source of one’s energy, and can serve as a predictor for several factors of one’s health in the future.