Breathalyzer for Head and Neck Cancer
Engineers at EPFL in Lausanne, Switzerland have designed a highly sensitive breathalyzer that can detect the volatile organic compounds that head and neck cancers gas off. The device is described as this: “Each sensor is composed of a silicon disk 500 micrometers in diameter that is covered by a polymer and suspended by four minuscule “bridges” with integrated piezoresistors. When exposed to a gas, the polymer absorbs certain molecules and the disk changes shape. This deformation is detected by the four piezoresistive bridges, which emit an electrical signal. This phenomenon makes it possible to determine the signature of the gas and its concentration. The trick lies in using different polymers on each sensor, in order to obtain an overview of the gas composition.” MORE
Image Credit: EPFL and MDTMag.com