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Australian researchers have successfully used an electronic nose in a diagnostic breath test for the deadly mesothelioma cancer.
Researchers at the University of New South Wales modified an electronic nose to identify the disease, which is caused by exposure to asbestos, in its early stages.
Associate Professor Deborah Yates says the small study had a high rate of accuracy.
"We have been able to distinguish between people who do not have any diseases and those who have so called benign asbestos diseases like pleura plaques, and malignant mesothelioma of the pleura," she said.
"What we now need to do is look at a larger number of patients. Ideally [we would] follow a larger number of patients who have had asbestos exposure who had not actually developed any disease, and see whether [the tool] could actually prospectively pick up the different diseases and distinguish them from mesothelioma."
Topics: cancer, diseases-and-disorders, health, asbestos, science-and-technology, research, sydney-2000
