Tuberculosis detector would ferret out disease faster

By News on the Net —— Bio and Archives November 7, 2011

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Renata d’aliesio, Globe and Mail Researchers are developing an electronic nose that would sniff out tuberculosis like a Breathalyzer detects alcohol, putting an end to current time-consuming tests and possibly saving hundreds of thousands of lives each year.

The concept, by a team in India where the highest number of tuberculosis sufferers live, has undergone early testing but needs more research and cash to determine whether its promise can be turned into reality – a major challenge that’s receiving a significant aid boost Monday. Grand Challenges Canada, a government-funded development agency, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation are injecting $950,000 to support the development of this potentially ground-breaking technology. If it can successfully detect tuberculosis from biomarkers in breath, the electronic nose would drastically reduce the cost and wait for diagnosis, hasten treatment and lower transmission of the lethal disease.

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