Breath analysis: clinical research to the end-user market

Abstract

Breath research is now well established and is solving some of the applications in the area of identifying volatiles for medical diagnosis. This paper looks at how this research has been taken to an end-user market. It is not intended to be an indepth study of the science but simply to draw attention to the role of the commercial link between the researcher and end-user. This market is not only in research but exists in hospitals, clinics, sports medicine and even homecare. The link between research and the end-user market is a vital one to avoid breath analysis being the tool of researchers only. The ubiquitous use of breath analysis depends upon it. This is a review of some of the success stories in commercializing the important breath analysis research that has been conducted over the last few decades. In order to make breath analysis the new blood test, products that have end-user appeal need to be developed and routes to market established.