Jennifer Mathews: Today, Frank Styles is a guinea pig of sorts. He undergoes a battery of tests on his breath.

Frank Styles: I'm always willing to do anything that's hopefully going to improve life for all of us.

Jennifer Mathews: This test measures the airway resistance in his lungs. Another test is a capsaicin challenge.

Dr. Andrew Sams: Capsaicin is actually the ingredient in chili peppers that gives them their heat.

Jennifer Mathews: Researchers track how much of it causes Frank to cough and how many times? A third test captures breath into a below-freezing tube.

Dr. Stuart Brooks: It's like breathing during a cold day on a window pane, and you can see your breath condensate.

Jennifer Mathews: Tests can then be done on the liquid that's collected. Dr. Stuart Brooks is the leader in this lab. He says, "The goal is to find out what's happening in your lungs without discomfort for the patient."

Dr. Stuart Brooks: I think they have a lot of promise both in diagnosis, in treatment and response to treatment. And hopefully, at some point in the future, this will be in the practicing physician's office.

Jennifer Mathews: For instance, this test measures the nitric oxide levels in the breath.

Dr. Thomas Truncale: If patient comes into your office without symptoms and you measure nitric oxide, it could predict an inflammatory reaction or an asthma exacerbation a week or so down the road before the patient has symptoms.

Jennifer Mathews: So don't be surprised if one day your doctor's visit includes a breath test like this.

This is Jennifer Mathews reporting.