Periodic Reporting for period 4 - SNIFFPHONE (Smart Phone for Disease Detection from Exhaled Breath)
Periodo di rendicontazione: 2018-02-15 al 2019-02-14
In addition to pre-screening, the new SNIFFPHONE add-on device shall have the potential to be utilized as an on-going treatment diagnostic tool. The fact that a patient is able to take countless diagnostic measurements at different time points during the day in a practically effortless manner is a great advantage. Moreover, the wealth of data generated by these tests may be automatically processed and analyzed to generate a continues and comprehensive surveillance report to be evaluated periodically by the treating doctor. Indeed, the chain of events described above, may actually convert a person's typical every day privet life environment to a very sophisticated monitoring environment, circumventing the need for long post-treatment hospitalization periods. Besides the research and development as well as clinical units, the SNIFFPHONE project also involves four European SMEs and one big industrial company, thus fostering European multidisciplinary and competitive ecosystems.
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Briefly:
• Sensors array fabrication - A large number of synthesis and deposition parameters were manipulated and optimized giving rise to the optimal conditions, for each chemistry. Exposure to various VOC's yielded valuable insights on the variability of sensor-to-sensor as well as on the sensor(s) drift and aging parameters. The array was also exposed to GC markers, and a Matlab code was generated in order to facilitate the selection and calibration of the sensor array.
• NV- Humidity sensors were adjusted, their response time was reduced via addition of a heating body in the second prototype. The fitting of three humidity sensors demonstrated to efficiently detect the beginning of the breath, were complimented by the addition of pressure and proximity sensors as well. This ensured repeatability in the measurement of the exhaled breath and was implemented in the second prototype.
• MFCS manufactured different ""microfluidic chips"" and ""breath inlets"" which were tested by UIBK. The optimal exhalation distance and mode were investigated and a breath collection protocol was devised and implemented in the clinical trials. in addition, an improved microfluidic chip was manufactured and fitted in the second prototype.
• Cellix manufactured a pump for optimal performance. The chamber size was enlarged and two valves were added. In addition, Cellix has manufactured the case and assembled the prototype and contributed to the communication protocol in both prototypes.
• JLM manufactured the PCB boards, firmware and software to communicate and activate all functional parts of both prototypes.
• Breath samples were analyzed by VTT according to statistical methods (LDA and DSI). VTT has also provided a safe ICT platform for data transfer and analysis which would maintain the privacy of the users. In the forth year VTT also validated the accuracy of the classification model in the general public.
• UOL collected heathy valentines and GC patents and generated data from there prototypes. This was accompanied by a study on confining factors generated on the same data base and a consecutive general public study was preformed.
• UIBK and Technion launched a GC marker study on the samples gathered in the clinical trials. Data was analyzed by GC/MS, PTR/MS.
• A market study and a literature review were conducted by SIEMENS and three user based questioners were launched. After the manufacturing of the prototype, Siemens and VTT, have repeated the user based survey and principles were extracted and implemented in the second prototype. This was done in an iterative fashion to insure the human driven design principle. In addition, an exploitation work shop was conducted.
• Finally, a responsible research and innovation (RRI) study and a few filed exercises were performed.
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