Program Finds Target-Chemical Signals in Multisensor Outputs

A computer program deconvolves the digitized outputs of multiple chemical sensors in an array to extract indications of the identities and con- centrations of target chemicals (which could be individual compounds or specified mixtures of compounds). Chemical-sensor arrays — denoted, variously, as electronic noses and electronic tongues — can be used for diverse purposes, including monitoring the quality of air in enclosed spaces, medical diagnosis involving specified chemical compounds or bacteria distinctive of particular diseases or infections, and monitoring the quality of food. The program follows a nonlinear-leastsquares approach to the analysis of data from a chemical-sensor array. In experiments, the program was found to be capable of identifying and quantifying both single compounds and mixtures of large numbers of compounds.