The Smokerlyzer is a medical device for determining the concentration of carbon monoxide in the blood. It is used as part of the diagnostics for smoking cessation. The toxic carbon monoxide (CO) is inhaled during smoking and is harmful because it reduces the amount of oxygen absorbed by erythrocytes (red blood cells) in the blood. The reduction in oxygen binding is due to the higher affinity (binding strength) of CO to hemoglobin (red blood pigment) compared to oxygen. CO is one of the 4,000 toxic substances that enter the lungs when smoked. Currently, at least 60 of these substances are believed to be carcinogenic (cancer-causing). The Smokerlyzer Carbon Monoxide Breathalyzer is designed to show the patient during the smoking cessation process that quitting smoking will result in the harmful CO no longer being inhaled. Beyond this effect, CO is representative of other harmful substances that no longer enter the lungs when smoking is abstained from. These effects should lead to a stronger motivation for future ex-smokers not to fall back into addiction. The Smokerlyzer breath test devices are clinically proven medical devices that are considered to be recognized in the field of both research and practical medicine.
Indications (areas of application)
- Smoking cessation – the use of the Smokerlyzer is useful in a smoker, both to strengthen the motivation in abstinence (renunciation) by achieving a reduction in the concentration of CO in the blood by renunciation, and in an active smoker to detect the high concentration of CO and hereby indicate the high personal risk of the individual smoker.
Contraindications
There are no contraindications to performing the procedure, as it is a non-hazardous examination procedure.
Before the examination
Before performing the procedure, verify that the use of the Smokerlyzer is indicated (indicated). In the absence of motivation to quit smoking, even the use of the procedure will have little effect on the patient’s desire to quit smoking.
The procedure
Several methods are possible to carry out the procedure:
- PiCO+TM – The piCO+TM is used to monitor the CO content of exhaled air. Using this method, the CO hemoglobin content can be determined as a percentage in addition to the CO concentration. The CO readings reflect the amount of CO in the exhaled air, while the CO hemoglobin content reflects the amount of displaced oxygen in the blood.
- Micro+ – This method can be used to determine the percentage CO hemoglobin content in exhaled air of adults, adolescents, and fetuses in addition to CO content.
- COmpactTM – This method represents a cost-effective method that, among other things, based on the CO content in the form of a traffic light, the respective risk for the smoker.
- BabyCOmpactTM – This method can be used in the context of prenatal screening, as the CO content in the mother’s blood can determine the risk to the fetus (unborn baby).
- COmpactTMUSB – In contrast to the COmpactTM is an additional USB port.
After the examination
Following the testing, the evaluation of the CO determination is carried out by the Smokerlyzers. To assess the individual risk, an age-adjusted value table is available, which can be used to classify the CO content. As a non-smoker, CO levels typically range from 0-6 ppm for an adult, while for an adolescent, the non-smoker level ranges from 0-4 ppm. In dangerously dependent smokers, adult levels exceed 51 ppm, whereas adolescents in the same risk group have levels above 36 ppm.
Potential complications
No complications can arise from the use of the Smokerlyzer.
