Applications of Electronic-Nose Technologies for Noninvasive Early Detection of Plant, Animal and Human Diseases

Abstract

The development of electronic-nose (e-nose) technologies for disease diagnostics was initiated in the biomedical field for detection of biotic (microbial) causes of human diseases during the mid-1980s. The use of e-nose devices for disease-diagnostic applications subsequently was extended to plant and animal hosts through the invention of new gas-sensing instrument types and disease-detection methods with sensor arrays developed and adapted for additional host types and chemical classes of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) closely associated with individual diseases. Considerable progress in animal disease detection using e-noses in combination with metabolomics has been accomplished in the field of veterinary medicine with new important discoveries of biomarker metabolites and aroma profiles for major infectious diseases of livestock, wildlife, and fish from both terrestrial and aquaculture pathology research. Progress in the discovery of new e-nose technologies developed for biomedical applications has exploded with new information and methods for diagnostic sampling and disease detection, identification of key chemical disease biomarkers, improvements in sensor designs, algorithms for discriminant analysis, and greater, more widespread testing of efficacy in clinical trials. This review summarizes progressive advancements in utilizing these specialized gas-sensing devices for numerous diagnostic applications involving noninvasive early detections of plant, animal, and human diseases.

Detection of Emerald Ash Borer Infestations in Living Green Ash by Noninvasive Electronic-Nose Analysis of Wood Volatiles

“…Electronic-nose instruments have the potential to be useful devices for early detection of insect infestations of trees based on identification of uniquely specific VOC emissions from affected parts of the host [64][65][66][67]. E-nose devices are capable of recognizing highly specific mixtures of complex VOC metabolites as a single smellprint signature that provides specific information about the metabolic (physiological) health state of the organism (plants, animals, or human) from which gas samples are taken [68,69]. This capability of metabolite-source identification of VOC emissions is possible without having to identify individual chemical species present in the sample mixture [28,70].…”

Methods for Early Detection of Microbiological Infestation of Buildings Based on Gas Sensor Technologies

“…Table 2 presents the selected cases. The majority of studies described so far pertained to the application of e-noses for product quality control (e.g., food or pharmaceutical) [134,135], detection of various ailments [136], or the assessment of odor nuisance [137]. They are also useful for the continuous measurements of the degree of pollution of environmental samples (water and air) as well as for evaluating the effectiveness of sewage and waste gas treatment [98].…”

Survey on Applications of Electronic Nose

“…Electronic nose not only detects the human disease but also recognizes the condition in plant and animal (Wilson, 2018). Electronic nose detects the disease based on the Volatile Compound (VOC) emitted from the sample.…”