Applications of Machine Olfaction - The Electronic Nose Artificial Olfaction Technology - page 209

8.1.2 Medical Industry

In various cases, infection with microorganisms generates a change in the way a
person smells, which can be especially perceptible on the breath, in urine, or
stools; such changes are used to assist in the diagnosis of diseases and in some
countries, smelling the patient or the body fluids of patients was, and still is, an
important tool in diagnosis.
Explore the potential applications of using qualitative volatile fingerprints
(E-nose) for early detection and diagnosis of diseases such as dermatophytosis,
ventilator associated pneumonia, cancer, renal analysis, and asthma detection.
There is a necessity for preventive medical checkups to diagnose disease early, to
speedup the healing process, to increase the rate of complete recovery, and
accordingly, to save money for the healthcare system [ 15 ]. Table 8.2 includes a list
of molecular biomarker VOCs of particular human diseases and disorders
and Table 8.3 presents existing E-nose uses in hospitals and universities for
healthcare/medicines [ 15 ].

Table 8.2 Molecular biomarker VOCs of particular human diseases and disorders [ 15 ]
Disease/disorder Volatile chemical biomarkers

Allograft rejection Carbonyl sulfide

Breast cancer C4-C20 alkanes

Cholera p-menth-1-en-8-ol, dimethyl disulphide

Chronic hepatitis Methyl-mercaptan, dimethyl sulfide

Cirrhosis Dimethyl sulfide, mercaptans

Cystic fibrosis Leukotriene B4, interleukin-6, carbonyl sulfide, alkanes

Diabetes Acetone, ethanol, methyl nitrate

Halitosis Methanethiol, Hydrogen sulfide, methyl mercaptan,

dimethyl sulfide

Hepatic encephalopathy 3-methylbutanal

Histidinemia 2-imidazolepyruvic acid, 2-imidazolelactic acid,

2-imidazoleacetic acid

Liver cancer Hexanal, 1-octen-3-ol, octane

Lung cancer Alkanes, ketones, specific aromatic hydrocarbons

(benzene derivatives)

Maple syrup disease 2-oxoisocaproic acid

Necrotizing enterocolitis 2-Ethyl-1-hexanol

Oxidative stress 8-isoprostane

Periodontal disease Pyridine, picolines

Phenylketonuria Phenylpyruvic acid, phenyllactic acid, phenylacetic acid

Schizophrenia Pentane, carbon disulfide

Tyrosinemia p-hydroxyphenylpyruvic acid

Trimethylaminuria Trimethylamine

Uremia Dimethylamine, trimethylamine