Breathe detector to find quake survivors
Scientists have developed a sensitive breath and sweat detector which can one day locate survivors buried under buildings hit by an earthquake or a bomb blast.
The sensitive instrument can detect small numbers of molecules spread out from the bodies of surviving victims, AFP reported.
Rescue teams already use trained dogs that can sniff out metabolites, chemicals resulted from body’s breakdown mechanisms, which come from breathing, sweating and urinating.
Researchers, however, have long been trying to make sniffing devices because training animals for searching trapped people are expensive, need frequent rest periods and both animal and trainer are exposed to danger during operations.
Scientists at Loughborough University in central England have recently developed a detector and tested it in conditions with a double complexity of a real disaster.
Sensors managed to rapidly detect human-generated carbon dioxide and ammonia in plumes of air that wafted through gaps in the rubble, scientists reported in the Journal of Breath Research.
The detector also found the scent of other volatile organic compounds cast off by human bodies, such as acetone and isoprene.
Findings showed that levels of ammonia decreased when the participants were asleep, but researchers could not explain why.
"This is the first scientific study on sensing systems that could detect trapped people," said lead researcher professor Paul Thomas.
"A device could be used in the field without laboratory support. It could monitor signs of life for prolonged periods and be deployed in large numbers," he added.
Source: presstv.ir
