Scientists at the Technion technical institute in Haifa report progress, including successful testing on humans, of an "electric nose" with an array of sensors that can detect multiple sclerosis from exhaled breath. In the latest edition of ACS Chemical Neuroscience, the scientists describe the progress as a breakthrough in the search for a fast, non-invasive and inexpensive test for the paralyzing disease.

Professors Hossam Haick and Ariel Miller and their colleagues note that the current detection and care is dictated by symptoms, expensive MRI exams and invasive lumbar punctures. In their researchers they identified volatile organic compounds in exhaled breath that are linked to multiple sclerosis, and designed the "nose" to detict those compounds.