Distinguishing the exhaled breath of two patient groups with an electronic nose

Background: Exhaled respiratory air contains countless volatile organic compounds (VOCs). The composition of those VOCs varies dependent of different pulmonary diseases. With the customizable electronic nose Cyranose 320 (C-320) it is possible to detect VOCs and distinguish between different VOC patterns. It was the aim of this study to analyze and distinguish the VOCs in the exhaled breath of patients with α1-antitrypsin deficiency (AATD) and patients with a chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).