Human skin odor analysis by means of an electronic nose

Electronic noses have been applied to several disciplines such as food analysis, environmental control and industrial processes. In this paper the use of electronic noses in medicine is introduced and discussed. In this paper a review about the main features of human body odor is given. First experiments concerned with the measurement of the sensitivity of sensors towards a particular constituent of the skin odor, and preliminary results of a survey of skin-odor analysis in a population of individuals are reported. Findings encourage pursuing this research direction that can give rise to a better comprehension of the role of smell and odor in humans and, in the next future, to a novel diagnostic tool.