• K T Moorhead, D Lee, J G Chase, A R Moot, K M Ledingham, J Scotter, R A Allardyce, S T Senthilmohan, and Z Endre.
• Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Canterbury, Private Bag 4800, Christchurch, New Zealand. ktm19@student.canterbury.ac.nz
• Comput Methods Programs Biomed. 2008 Mar 1; 89 (3): 226-38.

AbstractSelected Ion Flow Tube-Mass Spectrometry (SIFT-MS) is an analytical technique for real-time quantification of trace gases in air or breath samples. SIFT-MS system thus offers unique potential for early, rapid detection of disease states. Identification of volatile organic compound (VOC) masses that contribute strongly towards a successful classification clearly highlights potential new biomarkers. A method utilising kernel density estimates is thus presented for classifying unknown samples. It is validated in a simple known case and a clinical setting before-after dialysis. The simple case with nitrogen in Tedlar bags returned a 100% success rate, as expected. The clinical proof-of-concept with seven tests on one patient had an ROC curve area of 0.89. These results validate the method presented and illustrate the emerging clinical potential of this technology.

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