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Electronic Nose Technology in Respiratory Diseases

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Abstract

Electronic noses (e-noses) are based on arrays of different sensor types that respond to specific features of an odorant molecule, mostly volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Differently from gas chromatography and mass spectrometry, e-noses can distinguish VOCs spectrum by pattern recognition. E-nose technology has successfully been used in commercial applications, including military, environmental, and food industry. Human-exhaled breath contains a mixture of over 3000 VOCs, which offers the postulate that e-nose technology can have medical applications. Based on the above hypothesis, an increasing number of studies have shown that breath profiling by e-nose could play a role in the diagnosis and/or screening of various respiratory and systemic diseases. The aim of the present study was to review the principal literature on the application of e-nose technology in respiratory diseases.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Respiratory Diseases, University of Bari, Piazza Giulio Cesare 11, 70124, Bari, Italy

    Silvano Dragonieri, Pierluigi Carratu & Onofrio Resta

  2. Unit of Electronics for Sensor Systems, Center for Integrated Research, Campus Bio-Medico University, Rome, Italy

    Giorgio Pennazza

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  1. Silvano Dragonieri
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  2. Giorgio Pennazza
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Correspondence to Silvano Dragonieri.

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All procedures performed in studies involving humans were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institution or practice at which the studies were conducted.

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An informed consent was signed by all the participants of the studies cited in the present review.

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Dragonieri, S., Pennazza, G., Carratu, P. et al. Electronic Nose Technology in Respiratory Diseases. Lung 195, 157–165 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00408-017-9987-3

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