Application of gas sensor technology to locate victims in mass disasters – a review

Hamed Karami (), Bridget Thurn (), Nanne K. Boer (), Jose Ramos (), James A. Covington (), Jesús Lozano (), Taoping Liu (), Wentian Zhang (), Steven Su () and Maiken Ueland ()
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Hamed Karami: Knowledge University
Bridget Thurn: University of Technology Sydney
Nanne K. Boer: AG&M Research Institute, Amsterdam UMC, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
Jose Ramos: Nova Southeastern University (NSU)
James A. Covington: University of Warwick
Jesús Lozano: Universidad de Extremadura
Taoping Liu: Xidian University
Wentian Zhang: University of Technology Sydney
Steven Su: University of Technology Sydney
Maiken Ueland: University of Technology Sydney

Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, 2025, vol. 121, issue 1, No 2, 60 pages

Abstract: Abstract The occurrence of mass disasters are increasing as a result of changing climates and the growing threat of terrorist activities/conflicts. When these tragedies strike, it is critical to locate victims. While search and rescue dogs are trained to locate the living, cadaver detection dogs are trained to locate the deceased. These dogs rely on the volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emitted from the victims to do so. Knowing which dog unit to deploy can be challenging, and the victims’ makeup is likely to change following disasters in densely inhabited places, where commingling is likely to occur. The use of electronic nose technologies in forensic science is a recent breakthrough. Due to their ability to detect differing VOCs, this technology can be used to assist in the recovery of victims in disaster events. The most popular types of accessible gas sensor technologies are briefly introduced and compared in this article for their potential use to locate missing persons, both living and deceased. The current and future market needs are articulated, and the lack of enrichment of these needs is examined in relation to the capabilities of existing gas sensors. This will inform further research areas of preference to increase victim detection capabilities.

Keywords: Artificial Plow; MOS; E-Nose; DVI; Scent detection (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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DOI: 10.1007/s11069-024-06809-5

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