The Electronic Nose in Respiratory Medicine

• Published in: Respiration Vol. 85; no. 1; pp. 72 - 84
• Main Authors: Montuschi, Paolo, Mores, Nadia, Trové, Andrea, Mondino, Chiara, Barnes, Peter J.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Basel, Switzerland S. Karger AG 01.01.2013
• Subjects: Airway management; Asthma; Biosensors; Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; Electronic Nose; Humans; Lung cancer; Pulmonary Medicine - methods; Respiratory diseases; Respiratory Tract Diseases - rehabilitation; Review; VOCs; Volatile organic compounds; Volatile organic compounds; Chemical sensors; Airway inflammation; Lung cancer; Electronic nose; Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; Breathomics; Asthma
• ISSN: 0025-7931; 1423-0356; 1423-0356
• DOI: 10.1159/000340044

Several volatile organic compounds have been identified in exhaled breath in healthy subjects and patients with respiratory diseases by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. Identification of selective patterns of volatile organic compounds in exhaled breath could be used as a biomarker of inflammatory lung diseases. An electronic nose (e-nose) is an artificial sensor system that generally consists of an array of chemical sensors for detection of volatile organic compound profiles (breathprints) and an algorithm for pattern recognition. E-noses are handheld, portable devices that provide immediate results. E-noses discriminate between patients with respiratory disease, including asthma, COPD and lung cancer, and healthy control subjects, and also among patients with different respiratory diseases. E-nose breathprints are associated with airway inflammation activity. In combination with other ‘omics’ platforms, e-nose technology might contribute to the identification of new surrogate markers of pulmonary inflammation and subphenotypes of patients with respiratory diseases, provide a molecular basis to a personalized pharmacological treatment, and facilitate the development of new drugs.