SCH: EXP: Canine-Inspired Smart Sensor for Detecting Hypoglycemia from Human Breath

Indiana University, Bloomington IN

Investigators

Abstract

Diabetes is a global and national epidemic. One in ten healthcare dollars in the U.S. is spent on costs directly attributable to diabetes. Persons with Type-1 diabetes, especially children and the elderly, can experience sudden drops in blood sugar, that is, they can become hypoglycemic. This can be very dangerous if it remains unrecognized. The metabolic processes that lead to hypoglycemia generate odorants in human breath and perspiration. The specific odorants are not known by the medical community, but trained diabetes alert dogs can recognize the onset of hypoglycemia from odorants in a patient's breath. This award supports the basic research to identify the odorants of hypoglycemia in human breath and the development of a noninvasive hand-held smart sensor able to detect the odorants and communicate health information to patients, caregivers, and family members. Development of the smart device will improve health-monitoring options for persons with Type-1 diabetes, ultimately leading to decreased healthcare costs and improved lifestyles for the patients and their caregivers. This research will provide interdisciplinary research experiences to graduate and undergraduate students. In addition, this project will support participation of underrepresented groups and educational outreach programs for K-12 students and teachers across Indiana and the U.S. The metabolic processes that lead to hypoglycemia cause the production of specific volatile organic compounds in human breath. This fact is not currently used by the medical community to monitor diabetes or track the onset of hypoglycemia. However, trained diabetes alert dogs are able to identify these compounds and recognize the onset of hypoglycemia. Following this, the objective of this proposal is to develop a novel smart device able to detect the volatile organic compound profile in human breath that correlates with hypoglycemia. This will be accomplished in three steps. First, the identification of the hypoglycemic-signature breath profile, which will be validated by testing with diabetes alert dogs. Second, the development of a nanosensor array capable of detecting the identified compounds. Third, the incorporation of the nanosensor array into a portable smart device. The monitoring of volatile organic compounds in breath challenges the existing way of thinking that glucose is the only useful metabolic marker of hypoglycemia. This work will also aid researchers in understanding metabolic pathways associated with hypoglycemia. Moreover, the intuitive and secure mobile application interface that will be developed will effectively communicate relevant healthcare information.