Breath analysis dates back to 400 B.C., when Greek physician Hippocrates used breath to detect diseases. Modern breath analysis started in 1970s when Nobel Laureate Linus Pauling (2 time Nobel prize awardee) used gas chromatography (GC) and found hundreds of volatile chemical compounds in a breath sample.
Gas chromatography (GC) is a common type of chromatography (developed in 1903) which is used in analytical chemistry for separating and analyzing compounds that can be vaporized without decomposition. Typical use of GC technology include testing the purity of a particular substance or separating the different components of a mixture.
Gases in a person's breath produce >100 VOCs (Volatile Organic Compounds) which present themselves as breath biomarkers for various diseases
Breath biomarkers were discovered by Dr Linus Pauling at Stanford University in 1971. In the past 50 years, numerous studies have shown that those compounds in breath reflect metabolism of the human body responding to inflammation, infection, and medical intervention, or of bacteria or viruses residing inside the human body.
Leading cause of cancer deaths among males worldwide (projected to increase considerably in the future)
Early diagnosis offers the greatest chance for long-term survival
Overall, an estimated 9.5 million people die from cancer worldwide annually (~26,000 ppl/day)
No available commercial diagnostic test
Second leading cause of cancer deaths in the United States and the leading cause of cancer deaths in the United States among nonsmokers.
Widely accepted that colorectal cancer is among the most preventable, yet least prevented cancers. Colorectal cancer can take up to 10-15 years to progress from a pre-cancerous lesion to metastatic cancer and death.
Five-year survival rates for stages 3 and 4 are 71% and 14%, respectively, compared to a 90% survival rate if the disease is diagnosed during stage 1.
Over 704 million cases and 7 million deaths have been confirmed, making it one of the deadliest pandemics in history (March 2024).
New variants require a new test that can be reconfigured quickly to remain accurate.