Bio-insprired optoelectronic digital nose for breath analysis

Abstract

A novel electronic nose device is presented that can be used in disease diagnostics by exhaled breath analysis. Exhaled breath contains more than a thousand organic compounds that can be analysed to insect various diseases and metabolic activity. The novel device is an electronic nose, based on photonic bandgap fibers that can selectively guide infrared radition inside a hollow core plastic fiber. Instead of a laser line source, a broadband balackbody source is used that exploits the filtering/ guiding properties of the fibers to scan the whole mid-infrared region, making it high selectivity of volatile organic compounds possible. In addition waveguiding inside the fiber enhances the electromagnetic radiation intensity, resulting in improved infrared absorption cross-section. The fiber electronic nose can be integrated and deployed as a portable electronics device to point-of-care institutes.