Bilkent University
Mechanical Engineering Department
TÜBİTAK 1003 Öncelikli Alanlar
EEEAG SB0203
Start Date: July 1st, 2014
Expected Completion Date: July 1st, 2016
This project aims to develop a low-cost, rapid, and widely available analytical device for early detection of colorectal cancer. The principle of this device is based on the analysis of organic compounds found in human breath to determine whether the person has cancer.
Within the scope of the project, it is aimed to develop a device and analysis method based on nano-electromechanical system (NEMS). The focus will be on volatile organic markers specific to colorectal cancer obtained from recent breath analysis studies. The amount of these markers will be measured with high precision by the NEMS device-array. Each NEMS sensor in this array of devices will be coated with a different chemical-sensitive polymer. Each organic compound in human breath - and cancer-specific markers between them - will create a multidimensional fingerprint in the polymer-coated NEMS array. The project aims to detect cancer markers in a gas mixture sample using advanced data analysis techniques using these characteristic fingerprints.