A non-invasive test that you use to ‘smell’ illness from a breath sample sounds like the stuff of Star Trek’s Dr McCoy and sci-fi.
But, in fact, so-called electronic noses (‘e-noses’) that sniff out diseases are just around the corner, with scientists now working on devices to detect everything from Covid-19 and asthma to liver diseases and even some cancers, simply by looking at what’s in your breath.
This could save countless patients the discomfort of giving blood, urine or