NORMAN, Okla., Sept. 4 -- Ekips Technologies Inc. announced today it has received a $100,000 Phase I National Institutes of Health grant from the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute to support clinical studies for obtaining FDA approval of The Breathmeter, a laser-based breath analysis aid in the diagnosis and treatment of asthma. Clinical trials are underway at The Lung Center in Norman, Okla., and a preclinical trial was recently completed at the Oklahoma Allergy and Asthma Clinic in Oklahoma City. The patented technology developed by Ekips uses a mid-infrared laser chip -- similar to the laser chip used in commercial DVD players -- to measure nitric oxide and carbon dioxide simultaneously in exhaled breath. Such multiple molecule measurement allows great flexibility in breath sample collection, the company said. An article describing the Ekips research appeared in the January 2002 issue of Optics Letters. For more information, visit: www.breathmeter.com