Development of odour-based non-invasive diagnostics (NID) for infectious diseases to deliver affordable, accurate and accessible diagnosis

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There are no changes to the published description, as detailed below:Many infectious diseases cause changes in human body odour, generating a profile that can potentially be used for rapid, low-cost and non-invasive diagnosis. Arctech Innovation is building on early research to create a breakthrough diagnostic platform utilising electronic sensors to accurately detect the unique profiles from infected individuals.This project focuses on prototype diagnostic device development with malaria as an initial proof-of-concept, to validate Arctech Innovation's approach and address a critical need for improved methods of early-stage diagnosis and detecting asymptomatic/mild malaria infections that are frequently undetected or misdiagnosed. It builds on extensive analytical chemistry studies and Arctech Innovation's initial sensor evaluation/assessment, which show feasibility of detecting malaria at an earlier stage than is currently possible and when infection levels are lower.This game-changing solution will deliver wide-ranging socio-economic benefits to globally-disadvantaged groups. Worldwide, there were ~229m malaria cases and ~409,000 deaths during 2019 in 87 countries. Despite previous success, progress against malaria has stalled, and WHO morbidity and mortality reduction targets will be missed whilst the economic direct/indirect costs are vast. Further progress requires addressing key challenges such as improved methods for early-stage diagnosis (2 weeks prior to late-stage diagnosis) and detecting asymptomatic individuals that can still transmit malaria parasites and may account for up to 50% of onward transmission.The malaria diagnostics market (2020 value ~£800m) increasingly demands early diagnosis and surveillance systems in developing countries, representing a significant export opportunity. The wider infectious diseases market is a much larger opportunity thus demonstrating the potential value of our technology.