September 18, 2023 – The race to “detect” disease in human breath is on.
Hundreds of breath analyzers that detect smells Connections linked to Cancer diseases are in development, but only a handful of them are in the marketplace or already available clinical trials. Some, known colloquially as artificial or electronic “noses,” mimic biological systems.
The latest platformby researchers at Seoul National University in South Korea, has a microchip that lets a pc “smell” spoiled food. Unlike previous artificial noses, this one is more compact and energy efficient.
“The main improvement is that they implemented some calculations on the chip. This is extremely useful,” said Debajit SahaPhD, assistant professor of biomedical engineering at Michigan State University, who was not involved within the study. The design eliminates the necessity for a separate computing device and saves energy.
“For applications like food safety where recurring measurements need to be made, lower energy consumption is good,” Saha said.
How scientists are making technology that may smell
This technology, referred to as artificial odor systems (AOS), first emerged in 2010 1980s. In a typical AOS, sensors collect analog data that have to be converted into digital data by separate computing devices before being sent to a processor that calculates gas concentration values. However, this process is time and energy intensive and data might be lost during transmission.
The researchers have developed a chip or sensor unit that collects information And converts only the essential data, with out a separate computing device. The platform could eventually pair with smartphones and deliver results wirelessly.
“For the AOS to be applied to various unconnected devices such as mobile phones, small size and excellent power efficiency are essential,” he said Co-author of the study Jong-Ho Lee, PhD, professor of electrical and computer engineering at Seoul National University.
Powered by low-power microheaters, the sensors have thin movies of zinc oxide that may detect traces of hydrogen sulfide and ammonia gases, the telltale signs of spoilage in protein-rich foods.
To test the platform, the researchers placed chickens in a container that they connected to eight sensors. Next, they injected dry air into the meat container. The system repeatedly tracked emissions and calculated gas concentration to point spoilage.
The platform is “highly customizable,” said Lee, who envisions future applications in healthcare including “monitoring disease through human breath.”
Odor meters: The way forward for cancer diagnosis?
Cancer cells release volatile organic compounds, chemicals that smell and might function biomarkers for diagnosis. Despite the synthetic nose's potential to focus on these compounds, more work continues to be needed to make this a reality.
At this point, the platform can only detect two chemicals and measure gases in parts per million. To detect cancer and other diseases, it could must react to “many” different chemicals and calculate the gas concentrations in parts billionSaha said.
Very few electronic noses are so sensitive. “The biological olfactory system is still superior,” Saha said. “That’s why you still see dogs at the airport, not devices to test for explosives and drugs.”
His lab takes a special approach, using live insect brains and antennae, providing an “all-in-one device” for gas detection and calculation.
“The question remains as to how chemical sensing can be made more robust, reliable and sensitive. Our approach is to hijack the biological brain to do the work for us,” Saha said.
His lab discovered oral cancer Locusts. And most recently, they're using honey bee neural signals to detect lung cancer, research that would soon be published.
So far, this research has used cell cultures with cancer biomarkers – however the lab plans to check their approach on human breath.
Lee and his collaborators also hope to expand their research by “combining a neuromorphic system that mimics the human brain with an artificial olfactory system.” Ultimately, it could detect a big selection of gases, benefiting quite a few areas.