Although smell has historically played an important role in the fight against diseases such as the plague and tuberculosis, the human nose is generally not sensitive enough to be used as a reliable diagnostic tool.
However, a new artificial ‘nose’ inspired by our sense of smell could now make it possible to detect undiagnosed disease, hazardous gases, and food that is starting to spoil.
Michael Cheffena, a professor of telecommunications at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) in Gjøvik, believes says antenna technology is behind the breakthrough.
He says that previous attempts to create so-called ‘electronic noses’ have not had the advantage of having an existing infrastructure readily available.
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