Keystone-SDA
A new saliva test could in future detect fatigue at the steering wheel. Researchers at the University of Zurich (UZH) have identified a kind of metabolic fingerprint in saliva that reliably indicates whether someone is suffering from acute sleep deprivation.
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The method could improve road safety and safety in certain professions, the university said on Friday. The researchers see potential for forensic applications, such as in the investigation of accidents.
Thomas Krämer from the Institute of Forensic Medicine at UZH described the study, which was published in the specialist journal Journal of Proteome Research, as a “milestone for forensic research”.
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Twenty young men served as test subjects. Their saliva was analysed using high-resolution mass spectrometry after a sleepless night, after four nights with only six hours’ sleep, and after a normal eight-hour night’s sleep. Using machine learning, the researchers searched for molecular patterns indicating acute sleep deprivation.
Towards a rapid test
The analysis revealed that severe fatigue affects around 10% of all biomolecules in saliva. “The challenge was to filter out, from tens of thousands of molecules, precisely those that reliably indicate fatigue,” explained lead author Michael Scholz. The team succeeded in identifying ten specific biomarkers.
The long-term goal is to develop a rapid test that can be used on-site. However, the researchers emphasise that this is a basic research study. Before the method can be applied in practice, further tests with larger and more diverse groups of people are necessary.
Adapted from German by AI/ts
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