Researchers from Poland’s Gdańsk University of Technology are developing a measurement device for detecting volatile organic compounds (VOCs) present in both the environment and exhaled breath.

The device includes resistive gas sensors that detect assorted VOCs, including, among others, methane, ethanol, toluene, methylene, nitrogen dioxide, formaldehyde and ammonia, in air samples.

Researchers at Gdansk University of Technology describe a measurement device designed to analyze air samples containing various volatile organic compounds. Source: Kwiatkowski, Drozdowska and Smulko

Once captured, the air sample taken from the atmosphere or breath is analyzed by the assorted sensors in the device’s gas chamber. The device also features electrical valves and an electrical micropump.

According to the developers, the device can detect VOCs in just 10 minutes, signaling the presence of a potentially hazardous gas or, when sampled from breath, an illness.

"The setup is a low-cost device of simplified maintenance and service," said Janusz Smulko, one of the co-authors. "Additional environmental sensors boost the accuracy of gas sensing by correcting effects induced by temperature and humidity changes. The device can monitor the air quality collected in a human environment, such as in an office or warehouse, to detect molds or bacteria by emitted smells.”

The research appears in the journal Review of Scientific Instruments.