Electronic nose and electronic tongue integration for improved classification of clinical and food samples

A combined approach based on a multisensor system, to get chemical information from liquid samples through the analysis of the solution and its head space is illustrated and commented. Sensors operating in liquid (electronic tongue) and in the head space (electronic nose) are based on the same sensitive materials: the metalloporphyrins. This gives the opportunity of a certain uniformity of interaction putting in evidence the differences between the solution and its related volatile part. The combined system has been tested in two different experiments in the fields of clinical and food analysis, respectively. Results have shown a net increase of information when the combined systems are used. The sensor fusion procedure has been optimised in order to achieve the best results. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science S.A. All rights reserved.