An Artificial Nose Detects Cancer

August 1, 2011

He developed an inexpensive “nano-artificial nose” (NA-NOSE) that detects disease biomarkers passing from the bloodstream to the lungs and out through the breath. Haick works on the project “more than full time,” though it could take three or four years for NA-NOSE to reach the huge market that eagerly awaits it. The device has proven effective in distinguishing between lung, prostate, breast and colorectal cancer, says Haick, “and we have shown an ability to distinguish between head and neck cancers and lung cancers.” And all this without blood tests or biopsies!

a) A lab prototype of a handheld device that collects exhaled breath from cancer patients. b) Exposure chamber with inlet for breath samples c) Array of cross-reactive molecularly capped metal nanoparticle chemiresistors for the diagnosis of breath samples. See inset for a scanning electron microscopy image of the sensor’s template. Born and raised in the Christian Arab enclave of Nazareth, few people of any ethnicity have achieved on par with this 35-year-old former Fulbright Fellow. Although nearly a quarter of the Technion student population is of Arab ethnicity, Haick stresses, “Borders between Arabs and Jews cannot be felt here at the Technion. The only condition is to excel in science, and you will find your place.” For more information: http://Inbd.technion.ac.il (“Research”) or [email protected]