Scientists are working on e-noses that can decipher a particular smell pattern to determine if a deadly bacteria is present. The BBC reports on one e-nose scientists are working on that can detect the MRSA superbug in hospitals.
Getting a quick result is important for hospital screening and isolating infected patients to prevent disease outbreaks.
The e-nose gives a result within minutes, which is much faster than the current way of analysing ear, nose and throat swabs, which involves sending samples off to the lab and waiting 72 hours for a result.
Tests on hospital patients showed it could correctly detect three strains of Staph aureus, including MRSA, with more than 99% accuracy.
However, it cannot yet distinguish MRSA from its close cousin MSSA (methicillin-sensitive Staph aureus), which does respond to convetional antibiotics unlike MRSA.
Devices like e-noses, once 100% reliable, could be very beneficial to society. Conceivable uses for e-noses could range from tests on food in grocery stores to quick e-nose tests that could be used in business, by school nurses or used at home.
