The Project
The BreathSpec device in its current design.
The BreathSpec® project aims to develop a rapid, non-invasive device that can diagnose bacterial or viral infections through ultra-high sensitivity breath analysis. The BreathSpec® device was originally developed and designed in 2010 for the analysis of VOC (Volatile Organic Compounds) metabolic profiles in human breath.
This instrument is considered to be ideal for clinical applications where non-invasive patient screening is valuable to aid the clinician decision making process, determining different treatment or monitoring paths and outcomes.
Now, thanks to the grant awarded by the European Commission, the BreathSpec® project has started a large-scale clinical study, involving 9 different sites across England, Wales and Scotland. Pending positive results, it will be able to perfect a Point Of Care that is meant to be faster, cheaper and more resilient than the systems already available.
Once developed, the BreathSpec device will help reduce the development of anti-bacterial resistance and alleviate the growing problem of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) through improved diagnosis of antibiotic treatment. The device will also reduce the scientific, clinical and financial challenges associated with the development of new antibiotics.
A demonstration of the functioning of BreathSpec.
