Advances in Electronic-Nose Technologies Developed for Biomedical Applications

Abstract

The research and development of new electronic-nose applications in the biomedical field has accelerated at a phenomenal rate over the past 25 years. Many innovative e-nose technologies have provided solutions and applications to a wide variety of complex biomedical and healthcare problems. The purposes of this review are to present a comprehensive analysis of past and recent biomedical research findings and developments of electronic-nose sensor technologies, and to identify current and future potential e-nose applications that will continue to advance the effectiveness and efficiency of biomedical treatments and healthcare services for many years. An abundance of electronic-nose applications has been developed for a variety of healthcare sectors including diagnostics, immunology, pathology, patient recovery, pharmacology, physical therapy, physiology, preventative medicine, remote healthcare, and wound and graft healing. Specific biomedical e-nose applications range from uses in biochemical testing, blood-compatibility evaluations, disease diagnoses, and drug delivery to monitoring of metabolic levels, organ dysfunctions, and patient conditions through telemedicine. This paper summarizes the major electronic-nose technologies developed for healthcare and biomedical applications since the late 1980s when electronic aroma detection technologies were first recognized to be potentially useful in providing effective solutions to problems in the healthcare industry.

Detection of obstructive sleep apnoea by an electronic nose

“…Indeed, such devices can distinguish between a number of diseases via their VOC profiles [18][19][20]. A recent review article summarising potential medical applications has been published elsewhere [21]. To our knowledge, VOC profiles have not been assessed in patients with OSAS.…”

Initial study of three different pathogenic microorganisms by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry

“…Different types of microorganisms have a distinct metabolism, and they produce various types of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) 12– 14 . Attempts have been made to identify the VOCs of pathogenic organisms 15– 20 .…”

Low-Power Odor-Sensing Network Based on Wake-Up Nodes

“…Because of the lack of cost-efficient sensing technologies to provide an objective assessment on the strength and origin of odors it is currently difficult to localize smells and subsequently establish accountability for the culprit. In the past, odor quantification has been approached using electronic noses [2,3], which have used e.g., semiconducting metal oxides, conductive polymers, or piezoelectric materials as gas sensitive transducer [4]. Because of the poor selectivity of the basic gas sensing methods used in electronic noses, the use of pattern recognition schemes is necessary for many scenarios [5].…”