Researchers have developed a “sniff-cam”, a camera capable of detecting in the breath of an individual organic compounds associated with diseases such as diabetes, lung cancer or Parkinson’s disease.
Will we one day be able to diagnose diseases such as Parkinson’s, diabetes or lung cancer by simply analyzing the breath?
This is what new work published in July in Analytical Chemistry, the journal of the American Chemical Society. According to their authors, there are biomarkers in our breath that can indicate whether or not we suffer from certain serious pathologies, such as Parkinson’s disease, diabetes or lung cancer. It was still necessary to develop an instrument capable of detecting at very low levels the organic compounds that herald these diseases.
It is now done, since they have just developed a “sniff-cam”, a camera which, using filters and ultraviolet rays, can detect and then analyze the odorous volatile organic compounds (VOCs) present in the breath.
Detect biomarkers at low levels
How does this sniff-cam work? In the press release accompanying their study, the researchers explain that all individuals, even those in good health, emit VOCs. Their concentration can vary depending on different factors such as gender or body mass.
Some VOCs, however, are used to indicate health status. This is the case, for example, of ethanol (EtOH), a metabolite of the microbiota providing a reliable indication of blood glucose levels, and which researchers have been able to detect for several years.
However, current VOC detection systems generally require expensive and bulky equipment. To remedy this, the research team led by Professor Kohji Mitsubayashi has therefore created a first “bio-sniffer” measuring VOCs such as acetone. She then developed a first generation of sniff-camera which made it possible to visualize the ethanol emissions from the skin of a person who had consumed alcohol. However, the researchers wanted to perfect the device so that it could detect diagnostic levels of biomarkers.
Further research needed
This new generation of sniff-camera is unique: using a new imaging method, it is now able to measure low levels of EtOH in the breath. It has also been successfully tested on a group of male subjects who had consumed neither food nor drink.
These results show that the sniff-cam can visualize a wider range of VOC levels than previous devices, and its versatility may ultimately “help in the further study of the relationship between odors and pathologies”. However, further research is needed before use in diagnosis.
Early 2019, similar trials for a breath test were conducted by researchers at the University of Cambridge and funded by Cancer Research UK. Their goal: to analyze the patterns of molecules present in the breath to diagnose various cancers, such as those of the lung, esophagus and stomach.
.
