Over the last year, the COVID-19 pandemic has placed healthcare for respiratory medicine firmly in the global spotlight. But even before this, over half a billion people worldwide (1) were living with chronic respiratory illnesses such as asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) or idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). Jonathan Lawson at Owlstone Medical analyses how to advance the diagnosis and treatment of these conditions? And how could non-invasive breath tests change our approach to respiratory care?