Toshiba unveiled a smart breathalyzer which can detect a range of diseases just 30 seconds after users blow into the machine.

The device, about the size of a small dishwasher, is able to analyze the puffs for traces of several gases like acetaldehyde, methane and acetone that can signal the presence of several health problems such as diabetes, stomach ailments and even the ordinary hangover.

“A breath exhaled into the machine is irradiated with an infrared laser, and then trace gases are detected,” the company said in a statement.

Toshiba said it would expand the number of gases its machine can detect, with an eye to starting commercial production next year.

Going forward, we wouldn’t be surprised to see something like this getting a mobile component with a (much) smaller version of this breathalyzer connected to a smartphone that sends the information to the remote server for processing.

[Via: Yahoo]