How does our breath help analyze diseases? Our breath usually gives a lot of information about our health, which is new information for us to understand. Breath contains volatile organic compounds (VOC) which are effective biomarkers for diseases. Owlstone Medical Company from the UK is developing a testing platform called “Breath Biopsy”, a non-invasive, diagnostic method in collaboration with researchers, doctors, using the potential capacity of VOC for early detection of diseases like various types of cancer, respiratory illness and autoimmune diseases.
The connection between VOC and illnesses go back to ancient Greek times. Odors from the breath have been often used to detect diseases but there is no proof of it. Quoting Marc van der Schee, Ph.D., head of clinical at Owlstone Medical “These VOCs are effectively metabolites, so they are the breakdown products of the activity of your cells and the microbes that live in your body, and they also reflect the exposures you have in your environment, so your breath is really a very rich source of data.”
This article tells you how breath can be analyzed for early detection of health problems.
