Human beings have always speculated about the future. Science fiction is probably one of the most prominent examples, and stories are replete with robots, lasers and flying cars.
But no science fiction franchise has predicted the rise of the Moosy 32 eNose. Currently, digestive problems such as colitis or Crohn’s disease are usually diagnosed with invasive testing; however, the electronic nose could change that. Developed by a medical team of researchers at Valencia Polytechnic University in Spain, the device is intended to detect these conditions by chemically analyzing organic compounds released by stool samples.
The Moosy 32 has been undergoing laboratory testing, and as of now it has been tested on 445 stool samples. The device was able to correctly detect the differences between colitis and Crohn’s around 90 percent of the time. The eNose can also measure how severe the condition has become, anUlcwd the entire chemical analysis takes about three minutes.
The La Fe Health Investigation Institute is another organization that was involved with the project. Dr. Pilar Nos says that differences in the concentration of different organic compounds in feces can be indicative of a variety of potential bowel diseases. The implementation of the electronic nose would mean that diagnosis could become a much less invasive process and could also be done more quickly.
Despite the excitement, the testing has revealed that the device is not quite ready for medical use. While 90 percent accuracy is good, researchers believe that improvements should be made in order to make the device even more precise. Hopefully it should be as simple as tweaking the Moosy 32’s chemical detection algorithms.
Although the electronic nose is not being tested for other uses yet, researchers see the potential for more from the Moosy 32 eNose. The device has potential to diagnose other disorders and rare diseases, and could even be used to test water contamination or assess if a piece of fruit is ripe.
While the nose is not ready for public use, researchers have been very pleased with progress so far, and the development cycle for the Moosy 32 eNose is only just beginning. Read the original article at News Atlas, or learn more about colitis here.
