New York University Langone Medical Center will lead a new clinical initiative to determine a breath test's effectiveness in identifying volatile organic compounds in human breath that are biomarkers of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
The initiative will be funded by a $225,000 grant from The National Institutes of Health. Under the research protocol, breath samples will be collected from patients with COPD, as well as two comparison groups.
Harvey I. Pass, MD, the Stephen E. Banner Professor of Thoracic Surgery and chief of the division of thoracic surgery; and William N. Rom MD, MPH, the Sol and Judith Bergstein Professor of Medicine and director of the division of pulmonary, critical care and sleep medicine will lead the initiative.
"A breath test might enable earlier diagnosis of COPD," said Dr. Pass. "That, in turn, can help us better monitor response to treatment, as well as help focus care better by identifying subtypes of patients who would benefit from tailored treatments."
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