'Dog Nose' Light Sniffs Out Disease Here a riddle: What kind of light can smell? Answer: An optical dog nose.Researcher James Anstie at the University of Adelaide and his team are developing an instrument they�ve dubbed an optical dog nose that uses a specialized laser known as an optical frequency comb to provide a quick and non-invasive way to analyze a person breath for disease.Gold Nanoparticles Could Detect Disease : Discovery NewsPrevious studies have shown that diseases such as lung and esophageal cancer, asthma and diabetes can be all be detected in the breath.Using light to smell might be a little counterintuitive, but stick with us for a moment.Anstie and his team shine the laser onto a sample of gas. Since each molecule in the universe absorbs light at different optical frequencies, an odor has its own unique signature.�Rather than sniffing out a variety of smells as a dog would, the laser system uses light to �sense� the range of molecules that are present in the sample,� Anstie said in a press release.As for future plans, Anstie of the University of Adelaide Institute for Photonics and Advanced Sensing expects to have a working prototype of the device within three years and a market-ready product within five years.Disease Detection Goes Mobile�We now have a robust system to be able to detect the presence and concentrations of molecules in a sample,� Anstie said. �The next step is to work out how to accurately sample and interpret the levels which will naturally vary from person to person.�Researchers say the device sensitivity will not be quite as extreme as a dog nose, but will fall somewhere between the sense of smell of dogs and humans.