Indian researchers are developing an "electronic nose" that can detect tuberculosis on a person's breath. They are hoping to deliver an initial prototype to hospitals by October 2013.

The device, called the "E-nose" works on the same principle as a breathanalyser, a patient blows on the device and sensors pick up TB biomarkers in the molecules. The device is battery- operated and can offer accurate and instantaneous diagnosis.

Tuberculosis is a contagious disease that kills about 1.7 million people a year. Although Australia has one of the lowest rates of TB in the world, the incidence rate in 2007 was 5.4 cases per 100,000, incidence rates among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people still remain higher than non-indigenous Australians. In fact experts are saying that there could be more cases of TB in the country. Clinics in the northern-most Torres Strait islands that treat Papua New Guineans with TB have closed down earlier this year. In an issue of the Medical Journal of Australia, a third of refugees screened on arrival in Darwin had a form of TB.

The "E-nose" could be a breakthrough for TB treatment. Being handheld, the "E-nose" can operate in villages and towns that are far from clinics or hospitals. The device also offers a cheaper and faster alternative to traditional TB tests. Tuberculosis is currently detected through suptum tests that can take days.

"At the moment, a person has to go to hospital at least twice, first for the test and then for the result," said Dr. Ranjan Nanda, one of the lead researchers, from Delhi. "What we're preparing can go to the countryside in any temperature, any humidity, so a person doesn't have to travel and infect others on the way."

Researchers estimate that the "E-nose" could save 400,000 people a year in developing countries by early diagnosis, immediate treatment and reduced risk of transmitting the disease. TB is spread through the air. Infected patients can spread the disease through coughing, sneezing, spitting or talking. The TB germs are spread and a person only needs to inhale a small number of those bacilli to be infected. . If left untreated, each person with active TB will on average infect between 10 and 15 people every year, according to the WHO.

The device can also be used for early detection of other diseases like lung cancer and pneumonia based on the biomarkers of those diseases in the patient's breath. Each "E-nose" will cost about $20-30.

The project was awarded a $950,000 grant by the Bill and Melinda gates Foundation and Grand Challenges Canada, a non-profit organization working on health issues in the developing world.