This pilot study demonstrates the feasibility of field-based multi-channel breath acquisition with the BreathLogix VOC Series prototype during collegiate athletic activities, highlights the value of variability-centered analysis, and notes that further analytical validation, calibration assessment, and longitudinal reproducibility testing are required.
The study collected a field dataset of 421 breath recordings with a portable multi-sensor platform during routine collegiate athletic activities.
Group-level median sensor responses remained relatively stable across exercise conditions, while response variability changed more noticeably.
Humidity showed the largest post-exercise increase in dispersion, followed by the hydrogen- and methane-sensitive channels.
The acetone-sensitive response showed reduced variability after exercise.
Correlation analysis identified strong relationships among selected sensor channels, consistent with possible cross-sensitivity and environmental influence.
K-means clustering revealed two overlapping sensor-derived breath-signature groups, primarily separated by acetone-sensitive response.
A sex difference in cluster composition was not retained when each participant was counted once.
The authors conclude that field-based multi-channel breath acquisition is feasible, but further validation is required.
This pilot study tested a portable breath-sensing device, the BreathLogix VOC Series prototype, in a real-world setting rather than a laboratory. Breath was recorded from collegiate athletes before and after routine exercise, yielding 421 recordings from 209 participant ID codes. The device has several sensors, including ones responsive to gases such as acetone, hydrogen, and methane, as well as carbon dioxide, temperature, and humidity. The typical (median) sensor readings changed little between before and after exercise, but the spread of readings across people changed more. Humidity varied most after exercise, followed by the hydrogen- and methane-sensitive sensors, while the acetone-sensitive sensor varied less. Some sensors were strongly correlated with each other, which may reflect sensors responding to more than one substance or to the environment. Clustering analysis split the recordings into two overlapping groups, mainly according to the acetone-sensitive signal. An apparent difference between males and females in these groups disappeared once each person was counted only once. This research suggests that collecting multi-sensor breath data in the field is feasible and that looking at variability between people may be informative. However, this is an early pilot study. The authors state that the device still needs further validation, calibration checks, and repeated testing over time before its readings can be reliably interpreted.
Upload your bloodwork. We'll cross-reference your results against this study and 4,700 others.
Upload Your LabsOlla P, Shannan S, Maleki M, Travo A, Paknahad M, Bandi A, et al.. (2026). Field Evaluation of a Portable Multi-Sensor Platform for Characterizing Inter-Individual Variability in Exhaled Breath Responses.. Sensors (Basel, Switzerland). https://doi.org/10.3390/s26206429