A research consortium involving the TU Ilmenau has just launched a project to enable the early detection of lung cancer. With the help of a mobile respiratory diagnostic device, the human exhaled gas is to be analyzed with the aid of AI in order to detect signs of lung cancer earlier and more gently than before. The Federal Ministry of Education and Research is funding the three-year Breath-Observer project with 1.2 million euros.
Lung and bronchial cancer is one of the most common types of cancer in Germany, accounting for a fifth of all tumor diseases. However, the diagnostic procedures currently in use are invasive, i.e. they involve an intervention, i.e. penetrating the body, or radiological exposure and therefore entail risks of injury and infection. They are also very stressful and expensive for patients.
Mobile respiratory diagnostic device for the early detection of lung cancer
In the joint project BreathObserver, the project partners have set themselves the goal of developing a new type of medical diagnostic device for the direct analysis of human exhaled gas, which experts call exhalate. Exhaled breath contains a variety of gaseous substances whose composition is influenced by diseases, among other things. The researchers want to make use of this to identify biomarkers for cancer. Their ambitious goal: an innovative, mobile, non-invasive diagnostic device that detects biological characteristics in the air we breathe out at an early stage that reveal pathological signs of lung cancer. The analysis system, equipped with a disposable metal oxide gas sensor and in combination with established spirometric lung function measurement, should not only enable low-stress early detection of cancer with the help of artificial intelligence, but also the monitoring of the further course of the disease.
