A Singaporean Company named Breathonix has come up with a miraculous new breathalyzer test to detect covid-19 which provides results within 60 seconds. This company is a new startup that was initiated by the National University of Singapore. The company claims that this test can provide up to 90% accurate results which are enough to make a quick decision on treatment and isolation.
This test was analyzed by the National Centre for Infectious Diseases (NCID) with the help of 180 volunteers which is a relatively smaller trial yet produced significant results. The company is waiting to get approval from the country’s regulatory body which may take a few months. After that, it will be readily used and available for all.
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This breathalyzer Covid-19 test uses volatile organic compounds (VOCs). These compounds are found in the breath of a covid-19 positive patient only. Other healthy people don’t have these compounds in their breath.
Among these participants of its trial,50 people were coronavirus positive and the success rate of this virus was recorded as 9/10 participants.
There are many particles and compounds inside the human breath. Health experts suggest that human breath can provide valuable information about his health and an underlying medical condition if any.
These breathalyzers are a simple and non-invasive way of identifying coronavirus in a person’s body. It is faster and cost-efficient than the swab based diagnostic tests which are currently being used. But the breathalyzer test has to be highly specific to indicate a particular virus of interest.
For now, the swab-based test for Covid-19 is highly accurate however a poorly taken sample or contamination in the sample may show false results. But when we have to test people on a mass scale, using conventional testing may not be an easy thing. That’s why breathalyzer Covid-19 testing is better and easier to use.
Despite the success rate of the breathalyzer Covid-19 test, those who are flagged need further confirmation before declaring them as a coronavirus patient. typically a PCR-based test is the best choice for confirmation of the results.
This new breathalyzer Covid-19 test has up to 95% of the specificity rate. It means that it is able to show the most accurate results for 95% of the time. For the rest 5%, there are chances to be wrongly interpreted.
In the upcoming months, there are more tests planned to study the efficacy of this test on a large sample patient so that this test is validated. For now, it is still in its prototype stage.
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The introductory price of this breathalyzer is set to be £15 ($20) only. Breathonix, its manufacturing company says this price is nearly 70% lesser than the standard PCR testing which is currently in use.
This breath-based test is easier to conduct as it doesn’t require any special setting or the trained laboratory staff to do it. Patients who are identified as potential Covid-19 positive need to get another confirmatory test and go into isolation until their final results arrive.
It appears that the breathalyzer test will make a better screening tool for the initial inspection of people who may or may not have this virus in their bodies.
