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news.discovery.com 2015 01647.txt.txt

#'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 theye dubbed an optical dog nose that uses a specialized laser known as an optical frequency comb to provide a quick and noninvasive 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. ather than sniffing out a variety of smells as a dog would, the laser system uses light to ensethe 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 Mobilee now have a robust system to be able to detect the presence and concentrations of molecules in a sample, Anstie said. he next step is to work out how to accurately sample and interpret the levels which will naturally vary from person to person. esearchers 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 e

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