Nordic Life Science 1
Andreas Kjaer, Professor, University of Copenhage
n SniffPhone prototype FINLAND A NEW DEVICE FOR EARLY DIAGNOSIS OF GASTRIC CANCER A new cancer screening device, developed by European researchers including VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, detects cancer from breath testing. HE NEW DEVICE, called SniffPhone, is currently in a prototype phase, but the developers state that it enables early diagnosis of gastric cancer from a person’s exhaled breath. The small sensor device can be attached to a smartphone, and in practice, the user holds the device in front of his or her mouth and exhales onto the sensor to give a breath sample. The device measures the contained Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) using highly sensitive nanotechnology-based chemical sensors. The measurements are sent via Bluetooth, using a smartphone, to a dedicated cloud platform where they are analyzed by the appropriate medical personnel. The SniffPhone project is part of the EU’s Horizon 2020 Funding Programme and consists of nine partners: Technion – Israel Institute of Technology, NanoVation, Cellix, microfluidic ChipShop, University of Latvia, University of Innsbruck, Siemens, JLM Innovation and VTT. Within the project prototypes have been developed and validated, for example by means of clinical studies, and the next step is finding financiers. Commercialization of the device is planned to take place through a spin-off company. T 92 NORDICLIFESCIENCE.ORG PHOTO JLM INNOVATION GMBH