Exhaled breath sensor for early clinical diagnostic of breast cancer

• Grant number: 17/15868-7
• Support Opportunities: Research Grants - Innovative Research in Small Business - PIPE
• Start date: February 01, 2019
• End date: February 28, 2021
• Field of knowledge: Physical Sciences and Mathematics - Chemistry - Analytical Chemistry
• Principal Investigator: Paula Regina Fortes
• Grantee: Paula Regina Fortes
• Company: Alba Sensors and Diagnostics Ltda
• CNAE: Pesquisa e desenvolvimento experimental em ciências físicas e naturais ; Atividades de atenção à saúde humana não especificadas anteriormente
• City: Campinas
• Associated scholarship(s): 19/05914-7 - Exhaled breath sensor for breast cancer diagnostics, BP.TT; 19/03688-0 - Exhaled breath sensor for Breast Cancer diagnostics, BP.PIPE

Abstract

The development of sensors capable of evaluate the relevant biomarkers in the exhaled breath constitutes itself a useful tool in medical diagnosis. The information gathered from the molecular profile of the exhaled breath, produced endogenously due to a particular physiological condition, provides means for the early diagnosis of several diseases (such as cancer, asthma and diabetes, among others) and also allows to monitor the respiratory metabolites in patients after drug administration. The latter, provides access to point-of-care information and facilitate the conduction of clinical trials. In this scenario, the use of exhaled breath sensors with an adequate selectivity, sensitivity and fast response time is essential, and opens the possibility to construct dedicated and portable devices. Also, it has the potential of reducing the costs related to healthcare and socioeconomic loss due to early detection and open the possibilities of adoption of alternative treatments. It is expected that the diagnostics of exhaled breath can be considered as an analytical pillar supporting modern medicine and complementing conventional laboratory analysis. The objective of the proposed research project is to develop a portable optical sensor based on spectroscopic techniques (i.e. MID, Raman, among others) capable of performing exhaled breath analysis, mainly in the early clinical diagnosis of some diseases (e.g. breast cancer, cancer of lung, schizophrenia among others). The initial focus will be the diagnostic of breast cancer, given its high incidence and mortality among the female population and also the importance of obtaining an early diagnosis increasing the possibilities of treatment and its efficiency. Since the proposed sensor has the advantage of being essentially constituted by spectroscopic techniques, it can be configured in a modular manner ensuring its later applicability to other diseases which can be diagnostic by the analysis of the exhaled breath, in addition to the potential global use in screening/diagnostic of breast cancer, especially in areas where mammography or other breast imaging devices (i.e. ultrasound, mammography) are inaccessible. The expected result of this project is not limited to the construction of a sensor, but mainly its impact on Brazilian society. According to IBGE (2015) data, four out of ten Brazilian women fail to perform mammography, representing an index below the recommended World Health Organization (WHO), where at least 70% of women should be evaluated periodically. Associated with this, there is the potential to perform not only the diagnostic, but also screening in patients residing in geographical regions where hospitals are far away and only a moderate medical infrastructure is provided. (AU)