Sensor array optimization techniques for exhaled breath analysis to discriminate diabetics using an electronic nose

Disease discrimination using an electronic nose is achieved by measuring the presence of a specific gas contained in the exhaled breath of patients. Many studies have reported the presence of acetone in the breath of diabetic patients. These studies suggest that acetone can be used as a biomarker of diabetes, enabling diagnoses to be made by measuring acetone levels in exhaled breath. In this study, we perform a chemical sensor array optimization to improve the performance of an electronic nose system using Wilks’ lambda, sensor selection based on a principal component (B4), and a stepwise elimination (SE) technique to detect the presence of acetone gas in human breath. By applying five different temperatures to four sensors fabricated from different synthetic materials, a total of 20 sensing combinations are created, and three sensing combinations are selected for the sensor array using optimization techniques. The measurements and analyses of the exhaled breath using the electronic nose system together with the optimized sensor array show that diabetic patients and control groups can be easily differentiated. The results are confirmed using principal component analysis (PCA).