DrNose is a medical device that uses exhaled breath to screen for patterns associated with early-stage cancers and other diseases.
When a person begins to suffer from cancer or another disease, the body may release chemical compounds that travel through the blood. In the lungs, some of these compounds transfer to the air and can be detected in exhaled breath.
Researchers at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev in Israel conducted a study to assess different methods for detecting early-stage breast cancer. The study included DrNose, which achieved 95.2% accuracy in the reported dataset.
| Method | Reported accuracy | Cost | Other applications |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard mammogram | 75–85% | Very high | Breast cancer |
| MRI | 77–96% | Very high | Multiple cancers |
| Urine test | 85% | High | Multiple cancers |
| Other industrial e-nose | 85% | High | Research tool for four diseases |
| DrNose | 95.2% | Low | Multiple cancers and other diseases |
DrNose’s reported performance is attributed to its set of six sensors, selected after several years of testing from a pool of more than 200 potential sensors, and to its use of “Intuitive AI” technology developed by iOmniscient Corporation. This approach is designed to enable high accuracy with limited datasets.
The tests used an older version of the DrNose technology. The current platform is intended to provide additional advantages by being non-invasive, easy to administer and less expensive than many conventional diagnostic approaches.
Beyond breast cancer, DrNose is being researched for early-stage screening across other cancers and diseases, including lung and colorectal cancers, cystic and pulmonary fibrosis, kidney, liver and gastrointestinal diseases, asthma, COPD and diabetes.
Those interested in joining this work as an investor or licensee can contact mgmt@drnose.ai.
Notes and reference
- According to Ben-Gurion University, the overall sensitivity of mammography is between 75% and 85% and can decrease to 30%–50% in dense breast tissue.
- MRI imaging can provide higher sensitivity but is expensive to establish and administer.
- An industrial electronic nose used in the study delivered accuracy of 85%.
- The team tested two electronic noses for exhaled breath, one of which was DrNose.
Herman-Saffar O, et al. “Early non-invasive detection of breast cancer using exhaled breath and urine analysis.” Computers in Biology and Medicine, April 2018.