Breath Analysis: A Promising Tool for Disease Diagnosis-The Role of Sensors.

Nefeli Lagopati,Efstathios Efstathopoulos,Evangelos Skotadis,Dimitris Tsoukalas,Maria Kaloumenou

doi:10.3390/s22031238

Abstract

Early-stage disease diagnosis is of particular importance for effective patient identification as well as their treatment. Lack of patient compliance for the existing diagnostic methods, however, limits prompt diagnosis, rendering the development of non-invasive diagnostic tools mandatory. One of the most promising non-invasive diagnostic methods that has also attracted great research interest during the last years is breath analysis; the method detects gas-analytes such as exhaled volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and inorganic gases that are considered to be important biomarkers for various disease-types. The diagnostic ability of gas-pattern detection using analytical techniques and especially sensors has been widely discussed in the literature; however, the incorporation of novel nanomaterials in sensor-development has also proved to enhance sensor performance, for both selective and cross-reactive applications. The aim of the first part of this review is to provide an up-to-date overview of the main categories of sensors studied for disease diagnosis applications via the detection of exhaled gas-analytes and to highlight the role of nanomaterials. The second and most novel part of this review concentrates on the remarkable applicability of breath analysis in differential diagnosis, phenotyping, and the staging of several disease-types, which are currently amongst the most pressing challenges in the field.

Highlights

Disease diagnosis is conventionally conducted using expensive, time-consuming, invasive techniques, applied by appropriately trained health care professionals
The first part of this review aims to provide an up to date overview of the main classes of sensors investigated for the analysis of exhaled gas-analytes (i.e., volatile organic compounds (VOCs), inorganic gases) for disease diagnosis
Especially using selective or cross-reactive sensors, comprises a non-invasive method that holds a great promise for application in early-stage and differential diagnosis of respiratory and systemic diseases

Summary

Introduction

Disease diagnosis is conventionally conducted using expensive, time-consuming, invasive techniques, applied by appropriately trained health care professionals. Gastroscopy, laryngoscopy, and coronary angiography are used for gastric cancer (GCa), lung cancer (LC), and myocardial infraction diagnosis, respectively [1]. Other commonly used methods, such as computed tomography [2] or mammography, used for breast cancer (BC) [3], may be harmful due to radiation exposure. Patient compliance and utilization of such diagnostic methods are remarkably reduced for a significant part of the population. Disease and especially cancer early-stage diagnosis via effective high-risk population screening, renders treatment easier [4]. For this reason, ameliorated diagnostic methods are imperative

Objectives

Results

Conclusion