Detecting diseases in breath with biophotonics
Detecting diseases in breath with biophotonics lead image
Exhaling could be the future of testing for disease, infection, or even mental disorders. Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are potential biomarkers for disease and are present in breath, blood, urine, and sweat.
Recent improvements in biophotonic technologies that enable highly sensitive, non-invasive, real-time testing bring VOC diagnostics closer to clinical application. Zhang et al. discuss the potential of these technological advancements for VOC testing.
“The presence, absence, or changes in the levels of these compounds can indicate specific health conditions, making them potential biomarkers for non-invasive disease diagnostics,” said author Shuyan Zhang. “They are particularly promising for lung-related illnesses like tuberculosis, lung cancer, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), as well as metabolic conditions like diabetes.”
VOCs may even have the potential to assess mental disorders like schizophrenia.
The authors identified two key technologies, Laser Absorption Spectroscopy and Surface-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy. The former identifies and quantifies specific VOCs through molecule absorption characteristics, while the latter detects VOCs using Raman scattering signals on nanostructured metal surfaces.
Though some techniques have reached clinical trials, they struggle to distinguish between different VOCs. The systems can also be large and expensive, limiting their widespread clinical adoption.
“As the field of VOC detection advances, multi-modal approaches combining the strengths of various optical technologies might be a promising direction to enhance the detection specificity and sensitivity, making them suitable for clinical diagnosis,” Zhang said. “The integration of these technologies with machine learning and AI could help in handling and interpreting complex VOC data, further pushing the frontiers of non-invasive diagnostics.”
Source: “Biophotonics technologies for the detection of VOCs in healthcare applications: Are we there yet?,” by Shuyan Zhang, Keertana Vinod Ram, Ran Zhi Tong Chua, Jodie Chuan Yue Foo, Jayakumar Perumal, U. S. Dinish, and Malini Olivo, Applied Physics Reviews (2023). The article can be accessed at https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0145194 .
This paper is part of the Volatile Organic Compounds and their Applications Collection, learn more here .
