Breath Analysis
VOC-based sensing for non-invasive health screening
Exhaled breath is one of the richest non-invasive sample matrices available to clinical research: a mixture of hundreds of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) whose composition tracks metabolic and pathophysiological state. Extracting that signal reliably is a demanding sensing and analytics problem — one JLM Innovation has worked on for nearly 15 years, engineering the chemical-sensor platforms, instrumentation and data-analysis methods that turn exhaled breath into quantitative measurement.
The measurement chain
A breath analyser is a system, not a sensor. VOCs occur at trace-to-ultratrace concentrations against a variable background of humidity, temperature and ambient air, so performance depends on controlling every stage:
Sampling
reproducible breath capture under controlled sampling conditions
Sensing
gas-sensor and multi-sensor arrays (metal-oxide, gold-nanoparticle, FET and other technologies) matched to the target VOCs
Instrumentation
temperature-controlled, low-volume sensing chambers and low-power electronics, from benchtop to handheld
Analysis
feature extraction, multivariate statistics (PCA, PLS) and machine learning for quantification and pattern recognition in high-dimensional, drift-prone data
Instruments
SniffPhone
a miniaturised, smartphone-coupled breath analyser for gastric-disease screening. Purpose-built gas sensors acquire the breath signal; the phone controls the measurement, relays data to an analysis server and returns a result. Horizon 2020 “Most Innovative Project,” 2018.
Modular Breath Analyzer (MBA)
a modular electronic-nose prototype built by JLM, combining gold-nanoparticle and metal-oxide sensors with machine-learning classification of sensor-response curve shapes; evaluated in gastric-cancer breath studies.
LCAOS handheld instrument
a handheld analyser integrating silicon-nanowire FET sensors with gold-nanoparticle resistive sensors, developed for early, point-of-care lung-cancer screening research.
Multi-Channel Gas Sensor Characterization Platform
A benchtop system for parallel testing of up to eight chemiresistive gas sensors, each in a standard 4-pin TO socket with independently set bias (1 V / 10 V) and DAC-controlled heater temperature. A low-dead-volume aluminium chamber gives fast, uniform gas exposure to all channels, with real-time USB logging of sensor and heater data.
Research
JLM Innovation instruments and data-analysis tools have been used to develop and validate exhaled-breath diagnostics with leading clinical and nanotechnology partners. A selection of peer-reviewed breath-analysis papers:
- Snapshot of Long COVID in Young Adults: Fast Screening Using Electronic Noses
J. A. Ulloa-Rosales, S. Bernal-Silva, M. Palau-Vázquez, S. Cadena-Mota, L. E. Alcántara-Quintana, J. Mitrovics, F. Rosales-Arellano, L. D. Becerra-Montes, G. Flores-Rangel, A. Comas-García, B. Mizaikoff, L. Díaz de León-Martínez, “Snapshot of long COVID in young adults: fast screening using electronic noses,” Sensors & Diagnostics, 2026, 5 (4), 534–542. - Infrared Spectroscopic Electronic Noses: An Innovative Approach for Exhaled Breath Sensing
J. Glöckler, J. Mitrovics, S. Beeken, M. Leja, T. Welearegay, L. Österlund, H. Haick, G. Shani, C. Di Natale, R. Murillo, G. Flores-Rangel, F. Bricio-Arzubide, R. Pinilla, R. Vargas, C. Saboya, B. Mizaikoff, L. Díaz de León-Martínez, “Infrared Spectroscopic Electronic Noses: An Innovative Approach for Exhaled Breath Sensing,” ACS Sensors, 2025, 10 (1), 427–438. - Ultratrace eNose Sensing of VOCs toward Breath Analysis Applications Utilizing an eNose-Based Analyzer
J. Glöckler, C. Jaeschke, M. Padilla, J. Mitrovics, B. Mizaikoff, “Ultratrace eNose Sensing of VOCs toward Breath Analysis Applications Utilizing an eNose-Based Analyzer,” ACS Measurement Science Au, 2024, 4 (2), 184–187. - Exhaled Breath Sensing: An IR-eNose Approach for Exhalome Studies
J. Glöckler, B. Mizaikoff, J. Mitrovics, et al., “Exhaled Breath Sensing: An IR-eNose approach for Exhalome Studies,” Conference Paper, 2024. - The Detection of Colorectal Cancer through Machine Learning-Based Breath Sensor Analysis
I. Poļaka, L. Mežmale, L. Anarkulova, E. Kononova, I. Vilkoite, V. Veliks, A. M. Ļeščinska, I. Stonāns, A. Pčolkins, I. Tolmanis, G. Shani, H. Haick, J. Mitrovics, J. Glöckler, B. Mizaikoff, M. Leja, “The Detection of Colorectal Cancer through Machine Learning-Based Breath Sensor Analysis,” Diagnostics, 2023, 13 (21), 3355. - Overview on VOGAS: An Instrument Combining Two Gas Sensing Techniques for Disease Diagnosis
M. Padilla, M. A. Leon, J. Glöckler, et al., “Overview on VOGAS: an instrument combining two gas sensing techniques for disease diagnosis,” Conference Paper, 2022. - Modular Point-of-Care Breath Analyzer and Shape Taxonomy-Based Machine Learning for Gastric Cancer Detection
I. Polaka, M. P. Bhandari, L. Mezmale, et al., “Modular Point-of-Care Breath Analyzer and Shape Taxonomy-Based Machine Learning for Gastric Cancer Detection,” Diagnostics, 2022, 12 (2), 491. - Breath Sensor Technology for the Use in Mechanical Lung Ventilation Equipment for Monitoring Critically Ill Patients
M. P. Bhandari, V. Veliks, I. Stonāns, M. Padilla, O. Šuba, A. Svare, I. Krupnova, Ņ. Ivanovs, D. Bēma, J. Mitrovics, M. Leja, “Breath Sensor Technology for the Use in Mechanical Lung Ventilation Equipment for Monitoring Critically Ill Patients,” Diagnostics, 2022, 12 (2), 430. - Class Decomposition for Gastric Cancer Detection from Breath
I. Polaka, M. Padilla, L. Mezmale, et al., “Class Decomposition for Gastric Cancer Detection from Breath,” IEEE Conference Paper, 2021. - Modular Breath Analyzer (MBA): A Breath Analyzer Platform Based on a Modular eNose Concept for Breath Diagnostics
C. Jaeschke, M. Padilla, J. Glöckler, I. Polaka, M. Leja, V. Veliks, J. Mitrovics, M. Leja, B. Mizaikoff, “Modular Breath Analyzer (MBA): Introduction of a Breath Analyzer Platform Based on an Innovative and Unique, Modular eNose Concept for Breath Diagnostics and Utilization of Calibration Transfer Methods in Breath Analysis Studies,” Molecules, 2021, 26 (12), 3776. - Application of Sensor Breath Analyser for Non-Invasive Detection of Gastric Cancer
L. Anarkulova, L. Mezmale, I. Polaka, et al., “Application of sensor breath analyser for non-invasive detection of gastric cancer,” Conference Paper, 2021. - Sensing Gastric Cancer via Point-of-Care Sensor Breath Analyzer
M. Leja, J. M. Kortelainen, I. Polaka, E. Turppa, J. Mitrovics, M. Padilla, P. Mochalski, G. Shuster, R. Pohle, D. Kashanin, et al., “Sensing gastric cancer via point-of-care sensor breath analyzer,” Cancer, 2021, 127 (8), 1286–1292. - iHWG-MOX: A Hybrid Breath Analysis System Combining Substrate-Integrated Hollow Waveguide IR Spectroscopy with Metal Oxide Gas Sensors
J. Glöckler, C. Jaeschke, Y. Kocaöz, V. Kokoric, E. Tütüncü, J. Mitrovics, B. Mizaikoff, “iHWG-MOX: A Hybrid Breath Analysis System via the Combination of Substrate-Integrated Hollow Waveguide Infrared Spectroscopy with Metal Oxide Gas Sensors,” ACS Sensors, 2020, 5 (4), 1033–1039. - A Novel Modular System for Breath Analysis Using Temperature Modulated MOX Sensors
C. Jaeschke, O. Gonzalez, M. Padilla, K. Richardson, J. Glöckler, J. Mitrovics, B. Mizaikoff, “A Novel Modular System for Breath Analysis Using Temperature Modulated MOX Sensors,” Proceedings, 2019, 14 (1), 49. - Overview on SNIFFPHONE: A Portable Device for Disease Diagnosis
C. Jaeschke, M. Padilla, E. Turppa, I. Polaka, O. Gonzalez, K. Richardson, J. Pajukanta, J. M. Kortelainen, G. Shani, P. Mochalski, M. Leja, J. Mitrovics, H. Haick, “Overview on SNIFFPHONE: A Portable Device for Disease Diagnosis,” Conference Paper, 2019. - Non-Contact Breath Sampling for Sensor-Based Breath Analysis
P. Mochalski, G. Shuster, M. Leja, K. Unterkofler, C. Jaeschke, R. Skapars, E. Gasenko, I. Polaka, E. Vasiljevs, G. Shani, J. Mitrovics, C. A. Mayhew, H. Haick, “Non-contact breath sampling for sensor-based breath analysis,” Journal of Breath Research, 2019, 13 (3), 036001. - A Novel Modular eNose System Based on Commercial MOX Sensors to Detect Low Concentrations of VOCs for Breath Gas Analysis
C. Jaeschke, O. Gonzalez, J. J. Glöckler, L. T. Hagemann, K. E. Richardson, F. Adrover, M. Padilla, J. Mitrovics, B. Mizaikoff, “A Novel Modular eNose System Based on Commercial MOX Sensors to Detect Low Concentrations of VOCs for Breath Gas Analysis,” Proceedings, 2018, 2 (13), 993.
Work with us
From feasibility study to validated prototype, JLM Innovation supports breath-analysis development across chemical sensing, instrumentation and chemometric data analysis.