Breath analysis as a diagnostic tool for early disease detection

Breath analysis is one of the clinical tests that can be used for early disease detection. Recent developments in laser absorption spectroscopy techniques, and in particular cavity ring down spectroscopy (CRDS) and tuneable diode laser absorption spectroscopy (TDLAS), allow developing small, calibration-free devices for performing these tests. The devices must of course have a high level of accuracy, robustness, and reliability with respect to measurement of extremely low levels of trace gas components usually encountered in human breath.

The project addresses these issues by aiming to make reliable identification of the species present in the exhaled breath, and for a selected set of biomarkers to reduce the uncertainty of measurement of the amount of substance from the current typical 10% down to at most 1to 2 per cent, taking into consideration the presence of interfering components in breath. The project output consists of high-accuracy spectroscopic data, measurement methods and reports.