How does it work?
When a patient breaths into the collector, the technology collects a comprehensive dataset of profiles and then applies artificial intelligence (AI) to seek patterns in the types and concentrations of compounds detected. Each disease presents an unique volatile molecular print compared to the breaths of healthy controls and those of other diseases. The presence of one disease does not screen out others, a necessary prerequisite for developing the technology for use in diagnosis. But each of the diseases manifest unique breath prints.
In the schematic above we see a good representation of what the study involved. Samples were collected from nine clinical centres in five countries (Israel, France, United States, Latvia and China). The study population breakdown consisted of 813 patients diagnosed with one of 17 different diseases and 591 healthy controls. Each breathprint needed to differentiate healthy patients from those with the following diseases:
Two types of measurement were done. One screened for diagnosis while the other measured breath chemical composition. The results were published in the December 21, 2016 issue of ACS Nano. The test was accurate in diagnosis 86% of the time. For it to be used in clinical settings the results need to be close to 99%. As the technology improves in accuracy it will contribute to a new generation of non-invasive, inexpensive and portable biomedical devices for personalized diagnosis and classification of diseases.
Professor Gouma is also director of the Center for Nanomaterials and Sensor Development at the university and it is this particular expert knowledge that has led to the development of what will become a first response detection system available over the counter for under $20.
The manufacturing process for creating the micro-spaghetti nanowires is called electrospinning, a process that involves shooting a liquid ceramic compound through a syringe into an electrical field. The electrospun fibers crystallize as tiny threads that are captured on an aluminum backing.
Electrospinning is a technology of the 21st century. It is simple and versatile allowing manufacturers to easily fabricate nanostructures on an industrial scale for use in electronics, photonics, pharmacology, and chemical engineering. A single syringe of liquid ceramic can produce a nanowire that can stretch from the Earth to the Moon. Different nanowires can be designed to be sensitive to specific molecules. A particular nanowire could detect nitrous oxide, associated with asthma and stress-related illnesses. A nanowire could be used to detect ammonia, a marker for kidney disease, or acetone, indicating diabetes. Nanowires could be used to detect the presence of viruses, e-coli, anthrax, salmonella, high cholesterol levels and different cancers.
Breathalyzers have been around for awhile. So why is this device worth talking about? Because it takes the technology from institutions like hospitals, or police departments, and turns it into a mass market, consumer product. The device is still undergoing testing but we should soon see breathalyzers using this technology on drugstore shelves.
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