Owlstone Makes Advancements in Breath Biopsy Platform

Owlstone Medical, a leader in Breath Biopsy for applications in early disease detection and precision medicine, has introduced a new ReCiva Breath Sampler and Casper 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.
 
The discovery of biomarkers, whether in blood, tissue, or breath, can be difficult. Issues can arise throughout the process, with two of the most challenging being the impact of background noise and the risk of contamination, and the collection of sufficient levels of chemicals so that they can be measured. 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.