Breath Biomarkers as Disease Indicators: Sensing Techniques Approach for Detecting Breath Gas and COVID-19

Abstract

Extensive research shows that there is a close correlation between a disease diagnostic and the patient’s exhale breath gas composition. It has been demonstrated, for example, that patients with a diabetes diagnosis have a certain level of acetone fume in their exhale breath. Actually, symptoms from many other diseases could be easily diagnosed if appropriate and reliable gas sensing technologies are available. The COVID-19 pandemic has created demand for a cheap and quick screening tool for the disease, where breath biomarker screening could be a very promising approach. It has been shown that COVID-19 patients potentially present a simultaneous increase in ethanal (acetaldehyde) and acetone in their exhale breath. In this paper, we explore two different sensing approaches to detect ethanal/acetone, namely by colorimetric markers, which could for example be integrated into facemasks, and by a breathalyzer containing a functionalized quartz crystal microbalance. Both approaches can successfully detect the presence of a biomarker gas on a person’s breath and this could potentially revolutionize the future of healthcare in terms of non-invasive and early-stage detection of various diseases.

Highly Sensitive Hydrogen Sulfide Sensor Based on GaN/GaInN Heterostructure

“…[1] An increase in the acetone and ethanol levels has been observed in people infected by the COVID-19 virus. [2,3] In recent years, hydrogen sulfide has attracted attention in medical research because of its connection to cardiovascular function and Alzheimer's disease. [4][5][6][7][8] Having accurate knowledge of the gases in the human breath could provide useful information during patient monitoring and possibly lead to early disease diagnosis.…”

A Novel Packaging of the MEMS Gas Sensors Used for Harsh Outdoor and Human Exhale Sampling Applications

“…COVID-19 has spread all over the world, causing economic and health problems in various countries. Many research institutes have begun to research and develop an expiratory rapid screening method [25][26][27][28][29]. Like the aforementioned disease diagnosis and alcohol, it uses a gas sensor to detect the presence of specific gas compositions or viruses in the exhaled sample of the human body.…”

Acetone Detection and Classification as Biomarker of Diabetes Mellitus Using a Quartz Crystal Microbalance Gas Sensor Array

“…Polymeric materials are commonly used as sensing films in gas sensor arrays for biomarkers' detection [23,24]. In gas sensor arrays, sensing films with different chemical and physical characteristics are employed; this offers enhanced selectivity and classification of VOCs associated with several diseases [25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34][35]. In this study, we introduce a gas sensor array based on high-frequency QCM, as a non-invasive method for the detection and classification of biomarkers associated with diabetes mellitus disease.…”