Identifying bacterial respiratory infection by e-nose technology
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Identifying the signature of bacterial respiratory tract infection by the detection of volatile biomarker metabolites using electronic nose technology
IRAS ID
196706
Contact name
Nicholas Feasey
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 3 months, 2 days
Research summary
The use and abuse of antimicrobials is a key driver of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). Clinicians are confronted with the symptoms of upper or lower respiratory tract infection on a daily basis. These clinical episodes may be bacterial, viral or non-infectious, however they are extremely difficult to distinguish using clinical criteria. A point of care test that reliably distinguished bacterial from non-bacterial episodes and therefore informed a clinician’s decision to prescribe or not prescribe antimicrobials would undoubtedly reduce the number of antimicrobial prescriptions and would also prevent occasional under treatment of bacterial infection.\n\nOne approach to the development of point of care diagnostics has been to investigate the complex gaseous mixtures released from the body in air expired from the lungs using gas sensors. Advanced gas sensor technology is already in use in numerous domestic and industrial contexts from smoke detectors in homes through to chemical and biological weapons sensors. Exhaled air contains gases and volatile organic compounds (VOCs), including abnormal chemicals that are specific indicators (biomarkers) of disease. This has led to the development of electronic aroma detection (EAD) technology, or electronic noses (e-noses) to analyse human breath profiles. \n\nIn this pilot study, we aim to recruit adult patients admitted to the Royal Liverpool University Hospital with clinical features of respiratory tract infection, who in addition to their usual clinical care will be asked to provide one or two samples of breath by blowing into a plastic mouthpiece (commercially available for medical use), to see if we can detect these chemical differences using a commercially available e-nose. The results of routine microbiological testing will be used to identify patients who have a confirmed bacterial or confirmed viral respiratory tract infection. The gas/VOC signatures recorded on admission from patients with these two conditions will then be compared to see if there are detectable differences. \n\nIf a difference is detected, this will inform larger diagnostic trials of this technology, that we hope will lead to the development of accurate, robust and affordable point of care diagnostics.
REC name
South West - Cornwall & Plymouth Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
16/SW/0024
Date of REC Opinion
18 Jan 2016
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion