IIT Roorkee develops breath-based cancer detector

The institute has signed technology transfer with Tata Steel. The device can detect the presence of breast, lung and oral cancer. 

A team of professors and researchers from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Roorkee has developed a simple, easy-to-use breath-based cancer detector (BLO detector), which works on the principles of colorimetry. The device is able to detect the presence of breast, lung and oral cancer. 

The institute has signed this technology transfer with Tata Steel. “BLO Detector will be important for screening a large pull of the population who are susceptible to any of these three types of cancer. A positive result in this test will ensure a quick visit to a doctor for a detailed diagnosis and treatment of cancer. This will have a huge impact on increasing the survival rate of cancer patients – specifically of these three types of cancer. The device has undergone an initial clinical test at a Cancer Research Institute in Dehradun, India, with a sensitivity and specificity of 96.11 per cent and 94.67 per cent, respectively. 

Breast-lung-oral cancer screening device  

Talking about the technology transfer, IIT Roorkee Prof Indranil Lahiri, lead researcher for the BLO Detector, said, "This is a quick, handy, pocket-friendly breast-lung-oral cancer screening device and a person just needs to blow into this device. Immediately after the test, the person can match the color of the substrate with a given colour code and understand the chances of having any of the breast, lung, and oral cancers."  

Acting Director Prof ML Sharma said, “The earlier the cancer is detected, more are the chances of full recovery. And where cancer detection in today’s world is becoming costly, I am humbled to know that this technology transfer will bear fruits for people who suffer from cancer and go on without detection.” 

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