Narrowing the gap between breathprinting and disease diagnosis, a sensor perspective

A disease usually manifests itself with the appearance of some associated symptoms. Before or at the same time as their appearance, many biological fluids (including exhaled breath) could reveal the presence of a disease through a characteristic print. Exhaled breath printing is the least invasive diagnostic method, but it still does not pertain clinical practice. The gap standing between fingerprinting and disease diagnosis is due to the complexity of the whole process and the huge variety of available techniques still confined to research. Exploring this gap means underlining sample collection, sensor technology and data analysis. In this work particular attention is devoted to standardization issues. Narrowing this gap means finding a shared path for researchers involved in breathprinting, through a common technological platform and a shared list of standard operating procedures.