What Does Cancer Smell Like? New Devices Diagnose Patients By Scent
Sniff Test This is a nose model the Oregon Healthy Authority uses for educational presentations. Oregon Health Authority Researchers have reported several new tests designed to diagnose disease from the smell of a person's breath or skin. From the acetone breath of untreated diabetics to the cancer compounds that dogs can be trained to sniff-there are several human illnesses that seem to make and release distinctive molecules into the air. Researchers around the world are working on different devices that are able to capture those smells and use them for earlier or less invasive diagnoses. The Quad-City Times, an Iowa-based newspaper, recently rounded up some of the most recent research in the field. There's an experimental device, from researchers in Philadelphia, that sniffs out melanoma from the air around the skin. There are chemical sensors for acetone, a first step toward a breathalyzer for diabetes. Check out the Times for more examples and...