Owlstone Medical, the global leader in Breath Biopsy® for applications in early disease detection and precision medicine, has introduced their new ReCIVA® Breath Sampler and CASPERTM Portable Air Supply, designed to support internal biomarker discovery programs and those of academic and biopharma clients, and to measure levels of known volatile organic compounds (VOCs) on breath.
Founded in 2004, based in Cambridge, UK, Owlstone Medical’s vision is to save 100,000 lives and $1.5 billion in healthcare costs by realising the enormous promise of breath-based diagnostics through the development and application of Breath Biopsy®. The Breath Biopsy platform includes ReCIVA®, a proprietary sample collection device that can take stable breath samples anywhere, the world’s only commercial Breath Biopsy Laboratory located in Cambridge, UK, and the development of the world’s largest Digital Breath Biobank matched to patient phenotype.
The discovery of biomarkers, whether in blood, tissue, or breath, is not straightforward. Issues can arise throughout the process, with two of the most challenging being the impact of background noise and the risk of contamination. VOCs on breath can be present at very low concentrations making assay sensitivity important, such that chemicals can be measured and changes in their levels detected. Owlstone Medical has focused on addressing these challenges through the development of its proprietary Breath Biopsy platform, which has enabled the Company to become the only commercial provider of breath-based biomarker discovery services.
The reliable measurement of low concentration VOCs lies at the heart of successful breath biomarker discovery programs. By helping to exclude VOC contaminants from the environment and reduce background, CASPER is an important part of what makes Breath Biopsy both accurate and consistent. The new CASPER includes a range of benefits over its predecessor including uniting the airflow pump and filter into a single casing that connects directly to the ReCIVA Breath Sampler, the use of filter cartridges which can be easily replaced, and active warnings when the filter cartridge needs changing or of temperature or airflow issues.
The Company has implemented new software to monitor subject breathing and VOC collection through ReCIVA, including a simpler user interface and the ability to set different levels of access to settings for different users. Work is also ongoing to improve the ergonomics, ease-of-use, comfort, and robustness of the ReCIVA Breath Sampler.
“Our Breath Biopsy platform and our ability to discover and validate breath-based biomarkers is the foundation of our business, underpinning both our revenue-generating research products and services and our Breath Biopsy test development efforts. Continued investment in our industry-leading platform is therefore an important component of our strategy, and we are very pleased to announce the launch of the new CASPER and ReCIVA and to be able to deploy these technologies into our internal development programs and to make them available to our customers.” – Billy Boyle, co-founder and CEO, Owlstone Medical
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