Simply breath-taking: Ionimed’s research in medicine
Industrial Partner in European Project: BAMOD
Cancer
is one of the leading causes of death in the western world. Diagnosis of cancer
often happens late in the course of the disease since available diagnostic
methods are not sufficiently sensitive and specific. An early diagnosis of
cancer could save thousands of lives a year. There is strong evidence that
particulate cancers can be detected by analyzing the volatile organic compounds
(VOCs) present in exhaled breath. This breath gas analysis represents a new non-invasive
diagnostic, which can provide information beyond conventional analysis of blood
and urine. Recent results [1,2]
suggest that detection of cancer is possible by means of breath analysis in
very early stages of the disease.
The
EU
project BAMOD (Breath-gas analysis for molecular-oriented detection
of minimal diseases) focuses on the diagnosis of minimal disease and early
stages of lung cancer. This international project brings together researchers
from both academia and industry with extensive knowledge in the field of basic
and clinical research as well as technical development.
Ionimed
Analytik is an industrial partner in the BAMOD project. Our contribution
to the project is to provide an expert solution for quality controlled and
artefact-free collection of human breath samples and to supply our know-how of
the PTR-MS technique for breath gas analysis. Through the close contact with
the project partners Ionimed gathers first-hand feedback from customers using
our devices in a clinical environment.
Ionimed
conducted research work within the KMT, Competence Center of Medicine in
Tyrol, from 2004 to June 2009 (renamed CEMIT, Center of Excellence in Medicine and
IT (CEMIT)).
Using PTR-MS Ionimed performed two major clinical studies, where the breath of
kidney failure patients undergoing kidney transplantation ("transplant study")
and the breath of lung cancer ("lung cancer study") patients before and during
therapy was analyzed.
Vision
Analysis of the molecular components in breath for disease diagnosis and
therapeutic monitoring will potentially become routine in the near future. This
is because breath sampling is non-invasive and most patients, even children,
the elderly and those on breathing apparatus, are able to provide a breath
sample.
Search for Biomarkers in the exhaled breath
Our
goal in performing clinical research is to identify potential biomarkers for
certain diseases and to relate breath concentrations of certain volatile
metabolites to their blood concentrations. Exact knowledge of these
relationships for patients undergoing a medical procedure, e.g. dialysis,
surgery or certain types of drug therapy, is needed to utilise the advantages
of a non-invasive real-time monitoring system such as our PTR-MS instrument.
Instead of repeated blood testing, our instrument offers the possibility for
direct and immediate detection of disease marker compounds.
Ionimed is intensively engaged in clinical research projects on breath gas
analysis in cooperation with medical doctors at local hospitals, e.g. the
Bezirkskrankenhaus Kufstein or the Medical University Innsbruck.
Real-time breath gas analysis utilizing Ionimed's PTR-MS-MED System
The PTR-MS system is a highly sensitive
and quantitative analytical instrument for determining the concentration of
volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in the exhaled breath in real time. Due to
it´s short response time and high sensitivity to a large number of volatiles,
no sample preparation, like pre-concentration, is necessary. Instead the
samples are analyzed while the patient exhales through the breath sampler.
Expert collaborators in statistics
Olaf Tietje from Systaim,
an ETH Zürich spin-off company, successfully uses the "Interrelation
Miner Methodology" to evaluate the quality and significance of
predictions using breath gas data.
We are currently building up an instrument-independent database of
breath gas data from our past and present clinical studies in order to
make statistical analyses of correlations between breath gas data and
pathological processes in the body.
In May 2009 Ionimed started a research project
within Oncotyrol , the Center for personalized Cancer
Medicine. Ionimed is collaborating with Systaim and
the Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics at the Medical University of
Innsbruck, Prof. Christian Marth. The planned research work comprises the
search for biomarkers for breast cancer diagnosis and prognostic markers
for the therapy management.
