Shiloh
Editor, Senior Moderator
Source: https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/he...gs-could-help-to-detect-early-signs-of-cancer
Sniffing out a killer: How dogs could help to detect early signs of cancer
Onyx the labrador retriever has been training with the automated canine scent-detection apparatus since December.
MARK TAYLOR/STUFF
Onyx the labrador retriever has been training with the automated canine scent-detection apparatus since December.
It may be an overstatement to describe him as a prodigy, but young Onyx's nose for academic research is undeniable.
At the age of 3, he already shares company with university lecturers and graduate students.
But at the heart of Onyx's success is less a hunger for knowledge than a hankering for doggy snacks.
Inside a quiet, nondescript room at Waikato University, the burly black labrador is being presented with a series of choices.
To the casual observer, the exercise seems rather puzzling.
Six months of training has taught Onyx to stick his muzzle inside a hole in a white screen.
The machine contains 17 sealed chambers that can be accessed via a flap behind the screen hole.
Inside five of the chambers is a scent ? in this case, amyl acetate, an organic compound that gives off a smell similar to bananas.
If Onyx holds his nose inside the chambers containing the scent for a set period of time ? about five seconds ? it's considered a positive indication.
That then triggers a doggy treat to be dispensed from a nearby pet feeder.
The machine's chambers are rotated by the dog hitting a lever with his muzzle.
A chamber without a scent ? termed a negative sample ? carries no food reward.
Onyx, eager to get to the treats, doesn't waste time on the negative samples and quickly pulls his nose out of the chambers that lack the desired scent.
After five minutes, the exercise is over, and Onyx has correctly identified all five scented chambers...
Sniffing out a killer: How dogs could help to detect early signs of cancer
Onyx the labrador retriever has been training with the automated canine scent-detection apparatus since December.
MARK TAYLOR/STUFF
Onyx the labrador retriever has been training with the automated canine scent-detection apparatus since December.
It may be an overstatement to describe him as a prodigy, but young Onyx's nose for academic research is undeniable.
At the age of 3, he already shares company with university lecturers and graduate students.
But at the heart of Onyx's success is less a hunger for knowledge than a hankering for doggy snacks.
Inside a quiet, nondescript room at Waikato University, the burly black labrador is being presented with a series of choices.
To the casual observer, the exercise seems rather puzzling.
Six months of training has taught Onyx to stick his muzzle inside a hole in a white screen.
The machine contains 17 sealed chambers that can be accessed via a flap behind the screen hole.
Inside five of the chambers is a scent ? in this case, amyl acetate, an organic compound that gives off a smell similar to bananas.
If Onyx holds his nose inside the chambers containing the scent for a set period of time ? about five seconds ? it's considered a positive indication.
That then triggers a doggy treat to be dispensed from a nearby pet feeder.
The machine's chambers are rotated by the dog hitting a lever with his muzzle.
A chamber without a scent ? termed a negative sample ? carries no food reward.
Onyx, eager to get to the treats, doesn't waste time on the negative samples and quickly pulls his nose out of the chambers that lack the desired scent.
After five minutes, the exercise is over, and Onyx has correctly identified all five scented chambers...