Detecting diabetes might soon be as easy as breathing into a device, a new study says.

An experimental breath test sorted out Type 2 diabetes patients from healthy people, based on their exhalations, researchers report in the September issue of the Chemical Engineering Journal.

“This sensor only requires that you exhale into a bag, dip the sensor in and wait a few minutes for results,” senior researcher Huanyu “Larry” Cheng, an associate professor of engineering science and mechanics at Penn State, said in a news release.

If validated, this test could prove simpler than the complicated blood testing and lab work now required to diagnose diabetes, researchers said.

Of the 37 million adults with diabetes in the U.S., about 1 in 5 isn’t aware that they have the condition, researchers said in background notes.

The sensor detects acetone, a chemical byproduct of energy production in the human body.

Everyone’s breath contains acetone, but elevated acetone levels indicate that a person has diabetes, researchers said.

Researchers exposed the sensor to the breath of 51 people with Type 2 diabetes and 20 healthy volunteers, all of whom exhaled into aluminum foil bags.

The sensor responded differently to people with type 2 diabetes, results showed.

Further, the sensor response tracked with the participants’ blood sugar levels. This shows that with work, the sensor might be powerful enough to help track blood sugar levels on a regular basis, rather than just as a simple test for diabetes, Cheng said.

“If we could better understand how acetone levels in the breath change with diet and exercise, in the same way we see fluctuations in glucose levels depending on when and what a person eats, it would be a very exciting opportunity to use this for health applications beyond diagnosing diabetes,” Cheng said.

Researchers next plan to improve the sensor so it can be used directly under a person’s nose or attached to the inside of a mask, to make it easier to use.