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Detecting lung infections with breath analysis and machine learning

IBEC researchers, together with clinicians from Sant Pau Hospital and Hospital Clinic in Barcelona, use “electronic noses” and machine learning to analyse the breath of patients, identifying with high accuracy those with lung infections of P. aeruginosa, a multidrug resistant pathogen. This method could represent a non-invasive and efficient tool to diagnose and monitor patients with a bacterial lung infection, offering a faster alternative to standard sputum cultures.

Electronic nose on a drone sniffs out wastewater plant stink

Researchers from Spain have engineered a portable electronic nose (e-nose) that’s almost as sharp as a human nose at sniffing out wastewater treatment plants’ stink. Coupled with a drone, the lightweight e-nose can measure the concentration of different smells, predict odor intensity and produce a real-time odor map of the plant for management. The method developed was published November 16 in the journal iScience.

Artificial smell to control food quality

Researchers from IBEC, in collaboration with the University of Cordoba, recently published a study where they develop protocols that optimize the use of a technique capable of analysing, at the molecular level, substances present in the aroma of food, managing to differentiate samples of ham from Iberian pigs fed with acorn or feed. This new approach, which uses artificial intelligence to analyse the data, will simplify the analysis of aromas, and can be very useful to determine the traceability and quality of food, and fight against fraud.

Bioengineering against COVID-19 receives a new boost thanks to “La Marató”

Three projects of the Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia (IBEC) will receive funding from “La Marató de TV3” to investigate different aspects of COVID-19. Thanks to the contributions received, the experts will deepen their understanding of the disease and its possible therapeutic solutions, study improvements in patient care processes, develop a system to predict the evolution of the respiratory system, and advance in the treatment of patients with pneumonia derived from COVID19.

DAM and IBEC develop a drone that improves odor management in water treatment plants

The company Depuración de Aguas del Mediterráneo (DAM) and the Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia (IBEC) develop a system equipped with chemical sensors that provides information, in real time, on the intensity and location of odor sources in the Waste Water Treatment Plants (WWTP). The system has been calibrated and validated under real operating conditions through several measurement campaigns at the Molina de Segura WWTP (Murcia).