OBSeRVeD

Title: Odour-Based Selective Recognition of Veterinary Diseases (OBSeRVeD)

Project number: NWA.1389.20.123

Duration: September 2022 - August 2028
Researchers: Pascalle Deenekamp, Joris Meurs, Simona M. Cristescu
Cost estimate: 5 M€
Funding: NWA‐ORC 2020/2021
Project partners:

Many (animal) diseases are accompanied by the release of volatile substances that form a specific odour. As a result, it regularly happens that veterinarians visit a livestock farm and can already make a diagnosis on entering the stable based on the smell they perceive. In this project, researchers from universities and colleges, together with companies and institutions have joined a consortium to develop a sensor that can detect these odors and thus warn the farmer at an early stage of a possible outbreak. Different sensor platforms and different chemical material functionalization strategies will be compared and the best combinations will be used for further development. Analytical methods will be employed at RU to analyze extensively the volatile organic compounds (VOCs) related to the disease odor. We aim to study the relation between the VOCs and disease and investigate the possibility to use these VOCs as biomarkers for early detection. These data will be used in the development of the e-nose-based sensors.