Breath Analysis Device for Lung Disease Detection
Value Proposition
This automated, portable breath analysis device utilizes gas chromatography and a corresponding algorithm to detect and monitor breath biomarkers indicative of Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS), COVID-19, and other lung injury. Identifying the onset of these illnesses early and monitoring their trajectory over time can help stratify patients and better allocate resources within the hospital.
Competitive Advantage
Suitable for point-of-care clinical and everyday use, ideal for diagnosis, monitoring, and screening of a wide variety of complex disease states including sepsis, ARDS, asthma/COPD, inflammatory bowel disease, and respiratory infections diseases such as COVID-19
Can be attached to ventilators, allowing for continuous monitoring and analysis even when a patient is unable to breathe on their own for continuous or intermittent monitoring
Able to supersede clinical diagnosis and trajectory monitoring of complex disease states such as ARDS and sepsis
Quick results: 30 minutes for a patient on a ventilator, and within 20 minutes for a patient who can breathe voluntarily
Unique Features
Completely non-Invasive and portable
Provides information on disease severity and trajectory (patient responding or worsening to therapy)
Capable of identifying hundreds of exhaled volatile organic compounds using gas chromatography.
Licensing Information
RUA Diagnostics in 2023
Principal Investigators
Sherman Fan, PhD
Kevin R. Ward, MD
Intellectual Property
Invention Disclosures #6549, #7142, #7494, #2019-234, #2020-098, #2020-099, #5160, #7162, #2021-327, #2023-240, #2023-250*
(*non-exclusive)
Patent application submitted
Solution Sheet
Download Solution Sheet
Image credit: Shutterstock
In the United States, about 200,000 Americans are diagnosed with ARDS each year. The portable breath analysis device described here is the first of its kind that can be used in point-of-care to continuously monitor patient breath. The ability to continuously and non-invasively monitor exhaled breath for early diagnosis, disease trajectory tracking, and outcome prediction monitoring of ARDS and other illnesses may have a significant impact on changing practice and improving patient outcomes.
Please contact the Licensing Manager, Jeremy Nelson, for more information.
Funding History
$3,454,803 in non-dilutive funding
2015 $25,000 MKICKSTART
2017 $138,000 MTRAC
2017 $116,250 NIH Center for Accelerated Innovation
2017 $411,601 NIH
2019 $433,493 BICI
2019 $370,317 IARPA
2020 $1,960,142 NIH
Substantial additional departmental, school and center based support
Completed Milestones
Preliminary clinical data indicating discrete COVID-19 diagnostic and lung injury severity signatures
Funding Organizations
Invention disclosure #6549 has been licensed to Nanova for all-field use. #7142 has been licensed to Nanova Inc. for environmental monitoring and detection use. The biomedical use of #7142 has been optioned to Blue Biotech and BICI that have separate territories.