VIT-A.P. researchers demonstrate low-cost photonic tech for non-invasive disease screening

Scientists from CATS Global (CASTLE Advanced Technologies and Systems), Nashik, Maharashtra, and VIT-A.P. University, Amaravati, Andhra Pradesh, have developed and demonstrated an innovative, low-cost optical sensing approach that could pave the way for affordable, non-invasive disease screening through breath analysis.

According to a press release from the VIT-A.P., the research article titled ‘Photonic elastic-backscatter fingerprinting of exhaled-breath metabolites for non-invasive disease screening’, authored by professors Rao Tatavarti, Sridevi Nadimpalli and P. Arulmozhivarman Pachiyappan, was published on November 6, 2026, in the international journal Scientific Reports, published by Springer Nature.

The study explores a photonic sensing technique that uses a simple, low-power laser and a position-sensitive optical detector to identify distinctive optical signatures associated with disease-related chemical compounds.

According to the release, human breath contains hundreds of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and other gases that can reflect changes in the body’s metabolic processes. Variations in the concentration of these compounds can be associated with different diseases, making breath analysis a promising approach for non-invasive health screening.

However, conventional breath-analysis technologies often rely on sophisticated laboratory instruments, including mass spectrometers, gas chromatographs and advanced optical spectroscopy systems, which can be expensive and require specialised infrastructure.

The study addresses this challenge, by demonstrating the potential of photonic elastic-backscatter fingerprinting to detect, distinguish and classify different disease-associated gas mixtures through subtle changes in the intensity and spatial position of scattered laser light. This approach offers a direction towards developing compact, cost-effective and potentially portable optical sensing systems, the release said. The study demonstrated that useful chemical discrimination may be achieved through relatively simple optical measurements, without relying on bulky and expensive spectroscopic instruments.