This is a field which holds great promise for future diagnostic techniques and equipment, conceived and developed through a close interaction between physicists, engineers, chemists, biologists and clinicians. In particular there is great potential arising from long-term work in non-invasive analysis and diagnosis of a range of child and adult diseases. Specific research areas include Selected Ion Flow Tube mass spectrometry (SIFT-MS) for the trace gas analysis of breath and urine; Medical photonics; Medical diagnostics (including the use of biosensors, imaging and metabolic screening, the role of biominerals in neurodegenerative brain diseases); The applications of mass spectrometric methods to the understanding of complex biological systems in human health and disease; Early detection and monitoring of lung disease (optical coherence tomography, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy). The Lung Research programme incorporates a multidisciplinary approach of cell pathology, molecular biology and bioengineering (see also Clinical Science: Respiratory disease).