Real time Liver disease early diagnosis through exhaled Volatile Organic Compounds sensing

Introduction

The analysis of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in exhaled breath with nano sensors has great potential to transform healthcare, with accurate, inexpensive, real-time diagnostics. However, attempts to implement this strategy have failed to reach clinical deployment.

Challenges in Current Approaches

Firstly, many efforts try to identify the complex mixture of VOCs associated with disease, which is a long and expensive process. Secondly, commercially available sensors require high operating temperatures and have low sensitivity to breath VOCs.

NaNose Medical's Solution

NaNose Medical has overcome these limitations through DiaNose, an easy-to-use, hand-held diagnostics device with potential applicability in over 20 different diseases. Instead of identifying individual VOCs, DiaNose deploys an array of patented cross-reactive sensors delivering a chemical signature of breath that can be classified as healthy or diseased through artificial intelligence.

Focus on Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD)

Our initial alpha prototype focuses on a key clinical indication: Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD). With a global prevalence of 30%, it is the leading cause of liver-related morbidity, generating an annual burden in Europe of over €35 billion and a further €200 billion of societal costs.

Limitations of Current Diagnostics

Crucially, NAFLD diagnostics present key limitations:

1. Liver biopsies are expensive, invasive, and subject to sampling error.
2. Non-invasive alternatives lack precision, are operator-dependent, and require expert interpretation.

The Impact of DiaNose

DiaNose will fill this gap, aiming to achieve a diagnostic accuracy of over 90% at less than €50 per test. Lab testing of our alpha prototype has shown high accuracy (88%) with NAFLD models.

Future Development with the ReLiV Project

With the ReLiV project, we will develop an advanced beta prototype that will be validated in clinical settings across different locations. This will bring DiaNose one step closer to commercialization, providing a truly cost-effective, point-of-care detection and monitoring device capable of improving patient outcomes and alleviating the economic burden generated by the growing NAFLD pandemic.