Breathalyser inspired by tragic mother will speed up the diagnosis of lung cancer - saving thousands of lives

Co-founder of Cambridge-based Owlstone Medical, Billy Boyle, helped to develop the microchip sensor technology following the death of his wife Kate Gross, from colon cancer, aged 36. 




She was mother to their twin boys Oscar and Isaac and had a successful career as an adviser to Tony Blair and Gordon Brown before founding a charity in Africa before her tragic death. Mr Boyle previously said the loss of his 'inspirational' wife spurred him on to helping others be diagnosed and treated early. He said if the disease is detected early existing treatments work more effectively. 'The challenge is most people present when it's very late stage, and it's about managing symptoms as opposed to curing them. 
'So the key thing that you can do is detect the disease early; and that's what we think the breathalyser technology allows for,' he said.