Breathalyzer To Detect Infection, Disease Being Developed

By Christine Kern, contributing writer

Breathalyzer technology could have far-reaching implications for improving patient care and outcomes.

Isomark LLC has been recognized as one of the top ten Wisconsin Innovation Awards winners for its Canary Breath Delta Value Analyzer, a device which detects infection using a breath sample, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. The technology has far-reaching implications for improving patient care and outcomes in a wide range of conditions.

The Canary Analyzer can detect infection within two hours of onset. Another possible application is a proposed smart neonatal incubator that continually monitors premature infant’s breath for signs of sepsis, according to Med City News. Sepsis has been identified as a leading cause of mortality in intensive care units.

Joe Kremer, CEO of Isomark, sees the potential in his new technology, explaining, “Everything that’s being used right now (for detection) uses either vital signs or testing blood serum or trying to do a culture, but all of that is predicated on having enough of this pathogen in you that’s it’s causing significant changes.”

“If you can stop an infection before it develops too far, you’re going to keep people from developing sepsis.” That’s the premise behind the Canary device.

Canary is able to identify infection at such an early stage because it does not rely on physical symptoms or an immune response for detection. Instead, it uses metabolism-based technology, and searches for acute-phase response with which the body counters an initial attack by a pathogen.

“Our body starts grabbing as much energy as it can, and it grabs energy from our muscles,” Kremer told Med City News. “The breakdown of amino acids in the muscles produces a signal that we can pick up.”

The Canary device uses exhaled breath carbon isotope delta values to identify the onset of the acute phase response, according to their proof-of-concept study, which tracked 17 mechanically ventilated pediatric patients and 16 adults, the test was able to identify one infection two days before it was detected in clinical practice and another case 12 hours before.

The Canary technology also won an earlier grant for almost $500,000 from the Department of Health and Human Services, in 2012. In the accompanying abstract for the grant, Isomark stated, “The relevance of this project will lead to earlier detection of critical inflammatory illnesses, such as systemic inflammation and sepsis, in at risk infants. Products developed in this project will lead to reduced need for unnecessary treatment, treatment of illnesses before they become critical, and a reduction of lifelong consequences of critical illness in premature infants.”

Isomark has also been called an innovator in a market ripe for disruption according to Small Business innovation Research.