Breath test to discover tumors: this way the diagnosis will be made with the breath

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A screening capable of diagnosing a tumor or other serious diseases such as diabetes or cystic fibrosis that works simply by blowing into a tube, similar to that of the alcohol test and with responses in a few minutes. This is the ambitious goal of the research that is being carried out Laboratorio PolySense of the Interuniversity Department of Physics ofAldo Moro University of Bari he was born in Polytechnic of Bari who are already developing a prototype that takes advantage of the best sensors in addition to the use of artificial intelligence which will be crucial to identify the presence of indicators capable of signaling the presence of a specific pathology.

Within a year, a prototype will be ready to be tested in the hospital

The team of researchers who are working on the prototype of the sensor

The PolySense laboratory, directed by the physicist Vincenzo Spagnolois an international excellence in sensors and a world hub in the design of a sensor based on optical spectroscopy, compact, portable and potentially usable even by unqualified personnel, which, through breath analysis, will monitor the recurring presence of certain combinations of volatile organic compounds (the so-called VOCs) in order to diagnose the presence of various pathologies and tumors, giving an answer in a few minutes.

Within a year, this is the ambition of the researchers at the PolySense laboratories who are working tirelessly on the project, a prototype of this sensor will be available which can be tested in hospitals and could be placed on the market in the near future, thus making screening possible of mass with a simple breath. «The Inter-University Department of Physics of the University of Bari confirms itself once again as a place of cutting-edge knowledge – comments the director of the Department, Roberto Bellotti – which stimulates new scientific discoveries, the proliferation of ideas and gives impetus to Southern Italy to establish itself as an excellence not only in our country but also internationally.

A cutting-edge sensor that uses artificial intelligence

Compared to breath analysis sensors already available today, the new machine will provide results much more quickly (with results available in 5 minutes instead of the current typical 1-2 hours); the screening can be carried out anywhere and not necessarily in the laboratory (so for example in the gazebos of the pharmacies set up for Covid swabs; on the food trucks of the local health authorities during prevention campaigns); and it can also be done by unqualified personnel. Thanks to artificial intelligence, after the patient has blown into a tube (exactly as happens for the alcohol test) the machine will be able to detect the possible presence of certain patterns of molecules cataloged as indicators of the presence of pathologies and measure the concentration of related “Vocs” in the breath. A simple traffic light type response system can be used which will indicate whether or not the need for second level diagnostic investigations is necessary.

How breath analysis takes place

Endogenous “Vocs” are found in the breath, i.e. produced by metabolic processes that originate in organs and tissues present in various parts of the body. Regardless of where they are produced, they reach the lungs through the blood and cardiovascular circulation and are then exhaled. The study and monitoring of these “Vocs” in human breath represents a new field of biomedicine called breathomica which therefore analyses the molecular composition of breathing and its modifications induced by the presence of diseases. The new sensor being studied by the Physics Department of Bari will be a rapid tool capable of allowing mass screening to turn these studies into reality.