PNOĒ’s new face mask wants to make lab-grade breath testing a self-serve affair

PNOĒ 的新款面罩旨在让实验室级别的呼吸测试实现自助化

At first glance, the newest device from PNOĒ looks like something a comic-book villain might wear. The mask, which covers the nose and mouth and straps around the back of the head, bears more than a passing resemblance to the one worn by Bane, Batman’s hulking nemesis. But its purpose is far more benign; it measures how much oxygen you consume and how much carbon dioxide you exhale, then turns that data into advice about how to eat, train, and, the company hopes, live longer.

乍一看，PNOĒ 的最新设备看起来像是漫画书里的反派会戴的东西。这款面罩覆盖了鼻子和嘴巴，并系在脑后，与蝙蝠侠的强敌贝恩（Bane）所戴的面罩极为相似。但它的用途要温和得多：它能测量你消耗了多少氧气以及呼出了多少二氧化碳，然后将这些数据转化为关于如何饮食、训练以及（公司希望）如何长寿的建议。

PNOĒ, which is based in Malden, Massachusetts, and has operations in Athens, Greece, is preparing to launch the PNOĒ 2.0 on October 1. The big change from its current device is that users can administer the test themselves. According to co-founder and CEO Apostolos Atsalakis, someone can walk into a gym, “just wear the mask, push the button, sit down,” and breathe for eight minutes. “That’s it. It’s that easy,” he said recently, talking with this editor over a Zoom call from the company’s Athens location.

总部位于马萨诸塞州莫尔登、在希腊雅典设有运营机构的 PNOĒ 正准备于 10 月 1 日推出 PNOĒ 2.0。与现有设备相比，最大的变化是用户可以自行进行测试。据联合创始人兼首席执行官 Apostolos Atsalakis 介绍，用户走进健身房，“只需戴上面罩，按下按钮，坐下”，然后呼吸八分钟即可。“就是这样。就这么简单，”他最近在雅典公司通过 Zoom 与本编辑通话时说道。

That matters because PNOĒ’s current device requires a trained operator, which limits where it can be used. A self-serve version could open the door to fitness centers without dedicated staff and potentially even pharmacies, Atsalakis said.

这一点很重要，因为 PNOĒ 目前的设备需要受过培训的操作员，这限制了它的使用场景。Atsalakis 表示，自助版本可以为没有专职人员的健身中心甚至药店打开大门。

The science behind PNOĒ isn’t new. Metabolic testing, which analyzes the gases in a person’s breath to gauge how their body produces energy, has been around for more than a century. For decades, it has been the gold standard for measuring VO₂ max, the maximum amount of oxygen the body can use during exercise and a widely used measure of cardiorespiratory fitness. But the tests have traditionally required bulky, expensive equipment found mainly in sports labs and hospitals, which is why they’ve largely been the province of elite athletes and executive wellness programs.

PNOĒ 背后的科学原理并不新鲜。通过分析人体呼吸中的气体来评估身体如何产生能量的代谢测试已经存在了一个多世纪。几十年来，它一直是测量最大摄氧量（VO₂ max，即人体在运动过程中所能使用的最大氧气量，也是衡量心肺健康状况的常用指标）的黄金标准。但传统测试需要笨重且昂贵的设备，这些设备主要存在于运动实验室和医院中，这就是为什么它们长期以来主要服务于精英运动员和高管健康项目。

What 10-year-old PNOĒ promises is the same accuracy in a portable package, paired with software that translates the results into recommendations. “We made it accessible to everyone,” Atsalakis said. The company says its test captures 23 biomarkers, including (beyond measuring VO₂ max) one’s resting metabolic rate (how many calories the body burns at rest), and metabolic flexibility (how well the body switches between burning fat and carbohydrates). Atsalakis argues that these metrics answer questions that blood tests can’t, such as how many calories a person needs or how they should train.

成立 10 年的 PNOĒ 所承诺的是，在便携式设备中实现同样的精度，并配有能将结果转化为建议的软件。“我们让每个人都能使用它，”Atsalakis 说。该公司表示，其测试可捕获 23 项生物标志物，包括（除测量最大摄氧量外）个人的静息代谢率（身体在静止状态下燃烧多少卡路里）和代谢灵活性（身体在燃烧脂肪和碳水化合物之间切换的能力）。Atsalakis 认为，这些指标回答了血液测试无法回答的问题，例如一个人需要多少卡路里或应该如何训练。

The timing is good for PNOĒ. VO₂ max has become a buzzword among longevity enthusiasts, thanks in part to research linking higher cardiorespiratory fitness to lower mortality. Atsalakis calls VO₂ max the strongest predictor of human longevity, and he sees his company’s data as a kind of scorecard for the booming wellness industry.

对于 PNOĒ 来说，时机正好。最大摄氧量已成为长寿爱好者中的流行词，这在一定程度上要归功于将更高的心肺健康水平与更低死亡率联系起来的研究。Atsalakis 将最大摄氧量称为人类长寿的最强预测指标，并将他公司的数据视为蓬勃发展的健康产业的一种“记分卡”。

The new device is smaller and more compact than its predecessor, with fewer parts, which Atsalakis said makes it more reliable. It was designed with Milan-based Design Group Italia over what Atsalakis described as “a lot, a lot, a lot of iterations,” since a self-administered metabolic testing device hadn’t been done before. It also addresses a question that post-pandemic users are likely to ask: who wore it last? The answer: it doesn’t matter, as the electronics detach from the silicone mask and straps, so multiple people can share the costly hardware while each user keeps their own mask.

新设备比前代产品更小、更紧凑，零件更少，Atsalakis 表示这使其更加可靠。它与米兰的 Design Group Italia 合作设计，经历了 Atsalakis 所说的“非常、非常、非常多次的迭代”，因为此前从未有过自助式代谢测试设备。它还解决了一个后疫情时代用户可能会问的问题：上一个人是谁戴的？答案是：没关系，因为电子元件可以从硅胶面罩和带子上拆卸下来，所以多人可以共享昂贵的硬件，而每个用户保留自己的面罩。

For all its clinical ambitions, PNOĒ is careful about what it claims. The device isn’t cleared by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, and Atsalakis said that “we do not provide medical recommendations.” Instead, PNOĒ considers itself a wellness device. “It’s like a body composition device, like a scale,” he said. “A doctor cannot prescribe medication based on our results.”

尽管有临床方面的雄心，但 PNOĒ 对其声明非常谨慎。该设备尚未获得美国食品药品监督管理局（FDA）的批准，Atsalakis 表示“我们不提供医疗建议”。相反，PNOĒ 将自己定位为健康设备。“它就像身体成分分析仪，就像体重秤一样，”他说。“医生不能根据我们的结果开处方药。”

That could change down the road. Researchers have long explored whether compounds in human breath can signal diseases such as cancer, and Atsalakis believes the company’s growing trove of data could eventually help it flag health issues. But he acknowledged that full diagnoses are “definitely a couple of years away,” with regulatory hurdles likely stretching that timeline further. “We’re not there yet,” he said.

未来这种情况可能会改变。研究人员长期以来一直在探索人体呼吸中的化合物是否能预示癌症等疾病，Atsalakis 相信公司不断增长的数据宝库最终可能有助于标记健康问题。但他承认，完全的诊断“肯定还需要几年时间”，监管障碍可能会进一步拉长这一时间表。“我们还没到那一步，”他说。

PNOĒ traces its roots to Atsalakis’s PhD work in sensing technologies at the University of Cambridge, when wearables were taking off and he became fascinated by what the breath could reveal about the body. He co-founded the company with Panos Papadiamantis, a childhood friend who is now the company’s chief product officer. The startup went through Y Combinator’s Winter 2019 batch, back when “longevity” was not yet the industry it is today. It has since raised about $22 million, including a recently closed $11 million round, from investors including 50 Years and Google Maps co-founder Lars Rasmussen, who is himself now based in Athens.

PNOĒ 的起源可以追溯到 Atsalakis 在剑桥大学攻读传感技术博士学位期间，当时可穿戴设备正在兴起，他开始对呼吸能揭示身体的哪些信息着迷。他与儿时好友 Panos Papadiamantis 共同创立了该公司，后者现在是公司的首席产品官。这家初创公司参加了 Y Combinator 2019 年冬季的孵化项目，那时“长寿”还不是今天这样的产业。此后，该公司筹集了约 2200 万美元，包括最近完成的 1100 万美元融资，投资者包括 50 Years 和谷歌地图联合创始人 Lars Rasmussen，后者目前也居住在雅典。

PNOĒ sells only to businesses, which then offer the test to their customers. Its clients include Equinox, where it’s available at almost all clubs, said Atsalakis, as well as Four Seasons hotels, Red Bull, the NBA, the Mount Sinai Health System, and the med spa chain Restore Hyper Wellness. About 85% of its business comes from the U.S., which Atsalakis described as “by far the most advanced market globally” for longevity. The company is now expanding in Europe and, through partners, in Latin America and Asia.

PNOĒ 只向企业销售，然后由企业向其客户提供测试。Atsalakis 说，其客户包括 Equinox（几乎所有俱乐部都有提供）、四季酒店、红牛、NBA、西奈山医疗系统以及医学水疗连锁店 Restore Hyper Wellness。其约 85% 的业务来自美国，Atsalakis 将其描述为“迄今为止全球最先进的”长寿市场。该公司目前正在欧洲扩张，并通过合作伙伴在拉丁美洲和亚洲进行扩张。

Businesses pay a subscription ranging from $400 a month to more than $1,000, which covers the hardware, software, training, and marketing materials, a package Atsalakis calls a “business in a box.” PNOĒ also links its results to the services a business sells, so a gym or spa can recommend specific offerings based on a customer’s test. Many clients use the test during onboarding, Atsalakis said, positioning it somewhere between a full clinical workup and the estimates people get from their smartwatches. That middle ground is increasingly crowded. Apple, Garmin, and Whoop all estimate VO₂ max from heart-rate data, while consumer devices like Lumen analyze breath to gauge fat and carb burning.

企业支付每月 400 美元到 1000 多美元不等的订阅费，其中包括硬件、软件、培训和营销材料，Atsalakis 将这一套方案称为“开箱即用的业务”。PNOĒ 还将其结果与企业销售的服务挂钩，因此健身房或水疗中心可以根据客户的测试结果推荐特定的服务。Atsalakis 说，许多客户在入会时使用该测试，将其定位在全面的临床检查和人们从智能手表获得的估算值之间。这个中间地带正变得越来越拥挤。苹果、佳明和 Whoop 都在通过心率数据估算最大摄氧量，而像 Lumen 这样的消费类设备则通过分析呼吸来评估脂肪和碳水化合物的燃烧情况。