TEDx Cambridge: Billy Boyle

(upbeat music) - From CAMFM, this is the review show with me, Phil Sanson. As TEDx came British was winding down for the afternoon, over at the CAMFM desk in the corner next to the glitter station, we got in one last interview. Our guest was asking the question, could a simple breath test diagnose disease? - Hi, my name is Billy Boyle. I'm CEO of Alston Medical. And what are you talking about today? - So today I'm talking about a cancer breathalyzer on our mission to try and save 100,000 lives by improving rates of early detection and cancer. - How does a cancer breathalyzer work? How are you making this? - So what we know is every time we breathe out, there's thousands of chemicals on your breath. Some of which are markers and disease and illness, and everything from cancer to infectious disease and inflammatory disease. So we're developing technologies that allow you to pick out these chemical markers of cancer even at the earliest stage. - How's this going? Does it work so far? Is it still in prototype stage? - So we originally developed the technology in Cambridge University. So the heart of it is a programmable chemical sensor. And we originally developed that for security and industrial applications. So more recently, we've been adapting it for these medical applications. So the moment we're running large scale clinical trials here in Nadenbrook, some with the support of NHS and cancer research UK, the trial find out how good these biomarkers of early detection are. If they do turn out to be very good, what are the consequences for cancer treatment? - So I think what we know today is if you pick up early, that is the best way to cure for the long term. So 95% of people survive if you pick up the cancer at the early stage. So the goal really is to have a test which both picks up early stage cancers, but it's also acceptable to patients. And it doesn't get better than breath in terms of acceptability and willingness to come do testing. Is your dream to see these in GP surgeries, maybe, that can be used as simple tests for cancer? - So I think one of the great things while it's the breath biopsy approach is you can take the sampler where the patient is. So that's not just in hospitals, but we say it in GP settings, pharmacy, even the supermarket and the home. So you have that ability when you start to collect samples and breath. - How expensive is the technology going to be, do you think? - So I think what we see is cancer's a global problem. It's not just a problem in Europe and the US. So our goal is to make the breath biopsy technology low cost enough that you can bring it to developing economies as well. I'm really benefit millions of patients. - Impressive stuff. Any concluding remarks? - No, I just think that we're always on the look guide for brilliant scientists and engineers to come join us and ask the medical help support our mission to save 100,000 lives. - So if there's anyone out there, come join us. That's it for this episode of The Review Show. KMFM is Cambridge Student Radio, broadcasting over 90 student-run shows every week. For more content like this, check out our website, KMFM.co.uk, we're also on Facebook and Twitter. Thanks for listening. (upbeat music)