‘Optical Dog’s Nose’ Developed to Detect Disease, Infections Through Breath Analysis (VIDEO)

JULY 10TH, 2015 RUKMANI SRIDHARAN

It has been long known that malignant tissues release chemicals that are different from normal tissues, and dogs have the ability to sniff out some of these subtle differences in breath samples. Australian researchers at the University of Adelaide are now on the road to developing a laser system that can analyze a person’s breath and screen for a variety of diseases including cancer, infections and diabetes, mimicking the abilities of dogs. The study, published in the journal Optics Express, describes the development of a fast, non-invasive laser-based system for optical analysis of the molecules in patients’ breath.

The laser is called an optical frequency comb, a device that at the same time flashes light beams of different frequencies at the air sample. The composition of the breath modulates and attenuates this light in different ways, and finding relevant markers within the resulting light beams may help spot disease. The researchers are now working on a way sample and interpret the results from several patients and account for sample variability. The product is expected to be commercialized in the next two to three years.