Epilepsy patients set to benefit from non-invasive molecular breath analysis

Deep Breath Intelligence announced the launch of DBI-EPIbreath, a simple breath test that can provide reliable estimates of circulating concentrations of the antiseizure medication (ASM) valproic acid to aid patient management.

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Key highlights:

• DBI-EPIbreath was launched by Deep Breath Intelligence at the European Epilepsy Congress.
• The diagnostic tool is a simple breath test that can provide estimates of circulating concentrations of the antiseizure medication (ASM) valproic acid to aid patient management.
• The test combines secondary electrospray ionisation-high resolution mass spectrometry (SESI-HRMS) with sophisticated bioinformatic tools.

This innovative diagnostics tool was showcased at the European Epilepsy Congress which took place in Geneva, Switzerland, from the 9^th to the 13^th of July.

Fast diagnosis and quick medication decisions are essential for epileptic seizure control. Standard therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) approaches are based on measuring drug concentrations in plasma or serum, but this has limitations, and it can take several days to turn around results.

DBI-EPIbreath is the first CE-IVDD certified, non-invasive test that allows real-time measurement of the total and free concentrations of valproic acid in a breath sample, delivering results in just 10 minutes.

The test combines secondary electrospray ionisation-high resolution mass spectrometry (SESI-HRMS) with sophisticated bioinformatic tools to assist in the management of ASM dosing regimens. Patients simply exhale into a SESI-HRMS instrument, and the data is analysed using machine learning algorithms. DBI-EPIbreath also predicts the likelihood – low, moderate or high – of drug response, as well as providing a side effects risk score, helping clinicians to identify whether a patient is likely to benefit from the treatment and/or suffer from unwanted side effects. 

Tests can be performed as often as necessary, making the technique an ideal fast and non-invasive diagnostics tool to complement blood testing. It is particularly advantageous for pediatric patients – where blood draws can be challenging – or if more frequent testing is required for any reason, such as individuals who are non-responsive or develop pharmaco-resistance.

This machine learning approach has potential to be expanded to include other ASMs in the future, enabling many more people with epilepsy to benefit from fast, non-invasive TDM.