Breath and sweat analysis as a tool for medical diagnostics

Abstract

A wide spectrum of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) is continuously produced in the human body and released through breath and sweat, thereby revealing important medical information. The variety of the analytical instrumentation used for measuring these biogenic VOCs is reviewed, highlighting the need to move towards field operability. The goal of this paper was to outline the potential of breath and sweat analysis for medical diagnostics and to introduce the idea of hand-held monitoring devices. Looking ahead, easy-to-use, low-power consumption, miniaturized instruments with processing capabilities and screening systems can further expand the use of breath and skin applications. Human breath and sweat present high potential as sources of volatiles for medical diagnosis and therapeutic monitoring. This medical knowledge should be integrated into personal care hand-held monitoring devices. © 2014 ICST.