Breezing Med device helping people to manage weight loss goals

The Breezing Med device - a technology created at Arizona State University - is helping doctors and their patients overcome challenges in weight loss by analysing users’ breath to gain insights into their metabolism. Invented by Professors Erica Forzani and the late NJ Tao, at faculty in the Biodesign Center for Bioelectronics and Biosensors in ASU’s School for Engineering of Matter, Transport and Energy, Breezing provides key information about a patient’s metabolism that standard-practice equations and estimates cannot capture.

The Breezing device is hands-free and transmits data via Bluetooth

Cleared by the FDA in 2020, the device has now received Medical Device Regulation certification from the European Union.

A medical professional helps a patient use Breezing Med, an ASU-created device that’s transforming how people are able to manage weight loss goals. Photo courtesy Breezing Co.

Breezing measures resting metabolic rate, which is how many calories the body burns at rest. Over time, the body can adapt to a low-calorie diet by lowering resting metabolic rate, thus stopping weight loss in its tracks. Breezing measures respiratory quotient, which reflects the type of fuel being used. Typically, the body uses carbs first. When those run out, the body will switch to burning fat. But in people with obesity, the body may struggle to use fat as an energy source.

Breezing gives health care professionals the data they need to help patients overcome these two weight loss challenges by adjusting diet and physical activity as the body changes.

Breezing Med is meant to be used at the doctor’s office. It’s an ideal tool for a variety of clinical departments, including obesity medicine, bariatric surgery, endocrinology, family medicine and nutrition. At the first appointment, the patient breathes normally into the Breezing device. It measures metabolic rate, respiratory quotient, and six other respiratory and pulmonary parameters during a short 10-minute test. Looking at those values, the doctor recommends an exercise and diet plan specific to that patient.

The patient returns for a follow-up after a month and repeats the test with Breezing. This allows the doctor to see whether the patient’s metabolism has changed. If so, the doctor can adjust the exercise and diet plan to help the patient avoid stalled weight loss progress.

Edo Aarts

"Now that Breezing Med’s medical device certification is available in Europe, we can finally measure resting energy expenditure much more efficiently compared to the old methods,” said says Dr Edo Aarts, a bariatric and metabolic surgeon and CEO of MoreCare Clinics in the Netherlands. “This saves us as clinicians and our patients a lot of time. It has become much more affordable to incorporate this metric into our pre- and postoperative patient care, giving valuable additional information to guide patients to a healthier weight.”

Mandy Megan Conyers-Smith, a Canadian registered dietician, has been using Breezing Pro (a consumer version of the tool) in her practice to find out her clients’ energy needs as part of their nutrition assessments.

“Understanding each client’s metabolic needs has been invaluable - especially for those experiencing challenges with weight management, chronic fatigue or metabolic changes from long-term dieting,” added Conyers-Smith. “In my experience, undergoing the analysis often increases clients' motivation and follow-through with nutrition recommendations that align with their personal health goals.”

Breezing’s unique sensing technology offers one of the most accurate ways to measure resting energy expenditure. Conyers-Smith said this gives her confidence to use Breezing Pro to support her clients with effective, personalized and sustainable nutrition plans.