The sense of smell has been used to diagnose disease since ancient times. In fact, more recently dogs have even been trained to sniff out cancer. However, it is the use of electronic or e-noses which is relatively new.
E-noses were first used to detecting food spoilage or chemical leaks, but now more sophisticated and sensitive instruments are being used to diagnose a widening scope of diseases.
Implications - E-noses are yet another brilliant medical and scientific innovation that is bringing the medical community closer to detecting and curing serious diseases with ease. Science and technology have had parallel evolutions, where advancements such as these are bettering the medical community at a rapid rate.
Electronic Noses
Medical Noses to Sniff the Scent of Disease
Trend Themes
1. E-nose Diagnostics - The medical community is developing e-nose technology to diagnose an expanding range of diseases, presenting significant opportunities for the healthcare industry to invest in research and development of this technology.
2. Scent-based Disease Diagnosis - The use of scent-based disease diagnosis, where e-noses are becoming more available, is a trend that presents an opportunity for healthcare professionals to develop a less invasive, yet effective, means of disease detection.
3. E-nose Applications - The latest applications of e-nose technology are emerging outside the traditional medicine industry, such as in the food and beverage industries, thereby creating new and disruptive innovation avenues.
Industry Implications
1. Healthcare - The healthcare industry can invest in e-nose technology and innovate on scent-based disease diagnosis to provide more accurate and less invasive diagnostic tools for their patients.
2. Science and Technology - The science and technology industry can develop and further enhance e-nose technology to refine scent-based diagnostic tools, expand their potential applications and increase the accuracy in diagnosis.
3. Food and Beverage - E-nose technology is being used in the food and beverage industry to detect food spoilage; this presents opportunities to utilize these tools in quality control and increased efficiency in food storage and distribution processes.