A smartphone-interfaced, low-cost colorimetry biosensor for selective detection of bronchiectasis via an artificial neural network

Exhaled breath (EB) contains several macromolecules that can be exploited as biomarkers to provide clinical information about various diseases. Hydrogen peroxide (HO) is a biomarker because it indicates bronchiectasis in humans. This paper presents a non-invasive, low-cost, and portable quantitative analysis for monitoring and quantifying HO in EB. The sensing unit works on colorimetry by the synergetic effect of eosin blue, potassium permanganate, and starch-iodine (EPS) systems. Various sampling conditions like pH, response time, concentration, temperature and selectivity were examined. The UV-vis absorption study of the assay showed that the dye system could detect as low as ∼0.011 ppm levels of HO. A smart device-assisted detection unit that rapidly detects red, green and blue (RGB) values has been interfaced for practical and real-time application. The RGB value-based quantification of the HO level was calibrated against NMR spectroscopy and exhibited a close correlation. Further, we adopted a machine learning approach to predict HO concentration. For the evaluation, an artificial neural network (ANN) regression model returned 0.941 R suggesting its great prospect for discrete level quantification of HO. The outcomes exemplified that the sensor could be used to detect bronchiectasis from exhaled breath.