AI Framework Integrated with InN Gas Sensing to Distinguish Sedentary Metabolic Fingerprints from Chronic Liver Disease
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: Clinical monitoring of chronic liver disease (CLD) is currently hindered by the invasiveness of conventional biopsies. While breath-borne volatile organic compound (VOC) analysis offers a promising non-invasive alternative, the metabolic profiles of sedentary populations often overlap significantly with those of healthy individuals, making latent pathologies difficult to identify. To overcome this high-resolution diagnostic challenge, this study developed an integrated framework that couples high-performance semiconductor sensing technology with a machine learning-based analytical baseline. During the biomarker screening phase, GC-MS was utilized to analyze over 2000 VOCs, identifying 20 markers associated with CLD. These were further optimized into a robust feature panel including ammonia, isoprene, dimethyl sulfide (DMS), and limonene. For several critical metabolic features exhibiting high diagnostic potential, preliminary identifications were conducted by referencing NIST database matches and relevant literature. To maintain analytical rigor and account for the inherent complexity of trace volatile metabolites in biological samples, these signals are treated as putative metabolic features and characterized by their retention times. Regarding hardware, an InN-based sensor with Pt-AlN surface modification was fabricated, achieving a limit of detection (LOD) for ammonia below 0.2 ppm. Crucially, while the InN sensor was validated for specific core markers such as ammonia, the current AI classification model is trained on a refined 7-VOC panel derived from the comprehensive GC-MS data. To resolve diagnostic overlaps, a three-state dynamic sampling protocol (resting, exercise, and recovery) was implemented to isolate biomarkers that remain physiologically stable. By integrating multi-dimensional VOC features (e.g., isoprene and DMS) with sensor-validated data through DBSCAN and Random Forest algorithms, the framework successfully captured non-linear metabolic fingerprints. Machine learning results confirm that the framework effectively distinguished sedentary controls from CLD patients, achieving a macro-average AUC of 0.96. This integration provides a high-precision technical pathway for early-stage liver disease screening.
Source: AI Sensors
Authors: Tsung Ming Chao, Rakesh Kumar Patnaik, Yu Chen Lin, Ming-Chih Ho, J. Andrew Yeh
Language: English
Subfield: Biomedical Engineering
Field: Engineering
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $1,207
OpenAlex ID: W7162033180