An 'electronic nose' has proved able to detect asthma, according to an Italian researcher working in the Netherlands.
Silvano Dragonieri of Leiden University presented the results of his research to the annual conference of the American Thoracic Society in San Francisco.
They show that the nose - developed for the wine and food industry - can tell the difference between asthmatic and non-asthmatic patients.
Now Dragonieri hopes the device, which analyses microscopic particles breathed into a mask, can now be used to diagnose new cases.
"I even think it might tell the difference between varying degrees of the disease," he said.
Noses such as Dragonieri's - developed in Italy - have already been used to detect lung diseases like pneumonia.
One is currently being developed to sniff out lung cancer.
"I hope one day the noses will be capable of diagnosing all the diseases of the lungs," the Italian researcher said.
