Electronic nano nose sniffs out kidney disease

Electronic nano nose sniffs out kidney disease

Scientists in Israel have identified the key substances in exhaled breath associated with healthy and diseased kidneys and have developed an experimental electronic nose that has the potential to provide early and accurate diagnosis of chronic renal failure.

At the moment, the blood and urine tests now used to diagnose chronic renal failure (CRF) can be inaccurate and may come out “normal” even when patients have lost 75 percent of their kidney function. The most reliable test, a kidney biopsy, is invasive and may result in infections and bleeding.

The experimental “electronic nose” was tested on the exhaled breath of laboratory rats with no kidney function and normal kidney function. The device, which consists of an array of carbon nanotubes coated with organic materials, identified 27 volatile organic compounds found only in the breath of rats with CRF. The results raise expectations for the diagnosis, detection, and screening of various stages of kidney disease. If the tests detect patients with early CRF they could be treated in ways that to slow its progression.

The report is in the current issue of the monthly journal, ACS Nano