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The use of NaNose Medical's e-nose and Akida's artificial brain is a potential breakthrough in accurate, fast, inexpensive, widespread testing with the ability to control outbreaks and reduce the death toll from this disease, both companies write in a joint press release.
SAME SENSITIVITY AS DOG NOSE
NaNose Medical's technology, based on an artificial nose developed by the Technion Israel Institute of Technology, would have the same sensitivity to tiny amounts of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) as a dog's nose. Technion has been testing the device since 2017 to identify diseases such as Parkinson's, cancer, kidney failure, multiple sclerosis and infectious diseases – such as COVID-19.
NaNose Medical collected samples from 130 patients and sent sensor data from nanomaterials to BrainChip's Research Institute in Perth, Western Australia. The system detected the cases of COVID-19 between a disease group and a healthy control group, and Akida learned within seconds to recognize patterns of VOC biomarkers associated with infection with a high degree of accuracy in a minimum time frame. NaNose Medical currently collects samples from three primary locations worldwide and will partner with BrainChip to evaluate the data.
BETTER DIAGNOSTICS BY AI
A study in China confirmed that breath sensor data is more accurate than the so-called reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test commonly used. Accurate testing is essential in the early stages, even before symptoms manifest, and after treatment before patients are discharged to their community.
The use of the NaNose Medical sensor array to collect the data and Akida to perform the diagnosis may have a higher reliability than current testing methods, according to BrainChip and Nanose, and poses less risk to medical professionals because no saliva or mucus samples are collected. The advantage of BrainChip's AI/machine learning technology would be that it can be deployed in separate devices rather than diagnostic data having to be processed by central systems first.
USE OF E-NOSE IN THE NETHERLANDS
In the Netherlands, e-noses have been used for some time to detect various diseases and disorders through the breath. the technology was also found to be suitable for corona detection. At the corona test locations of the GGD in Amsterdam, an e-nose was and is used for a corona bladder test. With the SpiroNose it can be determined by means of a simple breath test that the person in question is not infected with the coronavirus. This allows the capacity of the corona test streets to be increased and also saves on the relatively intensive other test methods.
Due to uncertainty about some test results, the trial was temporarily halted in February. In the meantime, the e-nose is being used again. However, it turned out that there is room for improvement of the test, such as in the automation of the test process and training of the GGD staff.
The MCL in Leeuwarden is also investigating the effectiveness of e-nose technology in detecting corona infections on its own test street. The electronic nose, the Aeonosis, 'smells' based on substances in the exhalation air whether a patient has a certain condition. The aim of the study is that the e-nose 'learns to smell'.
