Self-Administered Adhesive Patch for Detection of Tuberculosis

Rotem Vishinkin, Department of Chemical Engineering, Technion - Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel
Hossam Haick, The Department Of Chemical Engineering And Russell Berrie Nanotechnology Institute, Technion - Israel Institute Of Technology, Haifa, Israel

Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease with not specific symptoms, thus leading to delayed diagnosis and further spread. In 2015, there were 10.4 million new TB cases, and 1.8 million deaths. About 95% of TB cases occur in developing countries. Currently available diagnostic methods have limitations in developing countries; therefore, a new diagnostic tool for TB diagnosis is required. A promising approach for TB detection relies on volatile organic compounds (VOCs) detection. In the literature, there are several reports on TB VOCs which can be detected from headspace of TB cells; exhaled breath; and urine. However, these methods are not suitable for TB detection in developing countries. A novel approach for the diagnosis of TB patients is based on the detection of VOCs emitted from TB cells and detected directly from the skin headspace. By gaining the identification of TB VOCs emitted from the skin, a flexible patch with integrated sensors can be tailored-up for TB detection. Such TB patch is a rapid, portable and on-line diagnostic tool. An exploratory study is currently being conducted in South Africa and India. The skin is sampled at different body locations by several absorbing materials which are analyzed by GC-/MS and nano-sensor array means. Currently, samples from 67 volunteers were analyzed by both GC/MS and nano-sensor array analyses. Preliminary results from the nano-sensor array, present a discriminative potential for diagnosing active TB patients from non-TB patients with 86-100% accuracy, depending on the sampled body location and QFT-TB result. HIV status and smoking habits influence was evaluated and excluded. GC-/MS analysis results discovered a unique pattern of VOCs which significantly discriminate between active and non-TB participants. These preliminary results present the first evidence for emission of TB VOCs from the skin which is utilized for flexible TB patch development for diagnosing and monitoring purposes.