NASA Breathalyzer Sniffs Out Cancer

The Vantage Health Sensor is a prototype Bluetooth-enabled breath tester that works with any smartphone for the early detection of lung cancer (soon) and, eventually, numerous other diseases.

Employing patented technology licensed from NASA, Vantage Health Inc. (Redwood City, CA) is developing the sensor and companion app first for lung cancer detection, then for other diseases. The sensor and app are currently in the prototype stage

According to the company, colon cancer, breast cancer, prostate cancer and ovarian cancer are among the forms of cancer capable of being detected with its technology. Vantage Health says it is also working on mobile screening capabilities for medical adherence, heart failure, diabetes, tuberculosis, oxidative stress disorder, metabolic impairment, and HIV/AIDS.

Vantage Health, through its parent company Nanobreak, cut a five-year exclusive licensing deal with NASA for the technology, which includes the use of “multiple US patents relating to inventions in the fields of nanotechnology, chemical sensing, carbon nanotubes, medical diagnoses, environmental sensing and cell phone applications,” according to a Nanobreak press release. The commercialization agreement requires that the products be manufactured substantially in the United States, the company says.

On the announcement of the licensing arrangement, Jeremy Barbera, chairman and CEO of Vantage Health, released a statement, saying, "By analyzing a person's breath print, the Vantage Health Sensor will provide low cost, non-invasive lung cancer screening for the earliest stages when there are more treatment options available for that person.”

Barbera continued, “Our mission is to commercialize mobile healthcare technologies that provide physicians and consumers with the tools to better manage the healthcare continuum from managing illness to managing wellness.”

The Atlantic magazine's Adrienne LaFrance spoke with Raed Dweik, MD, who runs the pulmonary vascular program at the Cleveland Clinic (Cleveland, OH) Respiratory Institute. Dweik says that our breath is directly linked to what's happening in our blood.

Ideally, Dweik told her, breath analysis would be part of a testing approach that included a variety of diagnostic tools. “The advantage of breath testing is that it's noninvasive and nonintrusive," he said. “It can be done anyplace, anywhere, anytime.”

In February, Vantage Health announced a strategic partnership with Scripps Translational Science Institute (STSI)’s Center for Digital Medicine. STSI will assist in the testing, evaluation and detection of certain basic volatile organic compounds (VOCs) using gas Chromatography and mass Spectrometry to calibrate the results of the Vantage sensor through validation.

STSI will also assist in the testing, evaluation and detection of certain VOCs commonly associated with lung cancer to calibrate the results of the Vantage sensor through validation. Also, STSI and Vantage Health will collaborate in the planning and execution of clinical trials.

According to LaFrance, Dweik said the "Holy Grail of breath testing" would be a Breathalyzer-style device that a person could carry in her pocketbook and use any time. And that is exactly the sort of device that Vantage Health is working on.