A portable device could one day detect lung cancer by analyzing a person’s breath The device looks for the gaseous chemical isoprene Declines in exhaled isoprene have been associated with lung cancer THURSDAY, Nov. 7, 2024 (HealthDay News) -- An experimental portable device might be able to detect lung cancer from a person’s exhaled breath, researchers report. The device contains “nanoflake” sensors that can detect small changes in the gases exhaled by a person with lung cancer.
The sensors specifically look for minute changes in isoprene. Declines in isoprene can indicate the presence of lung cancer, researchers said. Using the device, researchers tested the breath of eight healthy people against that from five people with lung cancer, according to results published Nov.
6 in the journal ACS Sensors . “Exhaled isoprene concentrations in lung cancer patients consistently fell below 40 parts per billion [ppb], in stark contrast to levels exceeding 60 ppb in healthy individuals,” wrote the research team led by senior researcher Qingyue Wang , an adjunct research professor of chemical engineering with Zhejiang University in Hangzhou, China. The findings validate the device’s potential “for rapid and cost-effective lung cancer diagnosis,” the researchers concluded.
People breathe out many gases -- mainly water vapor and carbon dioxide, but a range of other airborne chemicals as well. The sensors contain a blend of platinum, indium and nickel, researchers said. T.