Rutgers University–New Brunswick scientists have created a graphene–based sensor that could lead to earlier detection of looming asthma attacks and improve the management of asthma and other respiratory diseases, preventing hospitalizations and deaths.

The sensor paves the way for the development of devices – possibly resembling fitness trackers like the Fitbit – which people could wear and then know when and at what dosage to take their medication.

“Our vision is to develop a device that someone with asthma or another respiratory disease can wear around their neck or on their wrist and blow into it periodically to predict the onset of an asthma attack or other problems,” said Mehdi Javanmard, an assistant professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. “It advances the field of personalized and precision medicine.”

Javanmard and a diverse team of Rutgers–New Brunswick experts describe their invention in a study published online in the journal Microsystems & Nanoengineering.

Measuring biomarkers in exhaled breath condensate – tiny liquid droplets discharged during breathing – can contribute to understanding asthma at the molecular level and lead to targeted treatment and better disease management.