Ohio State University researchers from Wexner Medical Center are now developing a potential COVID-19 breathalyzer for accurate and fast screening of viral infection.
According to the recent report about this breath test technology, detecting the condition in critically ill patients is now faster through this non-invasive test.
Ohio State's Breath Detector Device
According to a report by News Medical, the latest breath test was discovered to pose more accurate results in terms of detecting infection among people.
To begin with, the usual test for COVID-19 screening is done through the PCR test. This method will acquire nasal samples from a person. Usually, it will take some time before the results are processed in the laboratory.
The report wrote that there is a "distinct" breath print" produced by the coronavirus infection. It is the result of ammonia, oxygen, and nitric oxide in the body.
Within 15 seconds, the breathalyzer can detect the COVID-19 breath print from the exhaled breath, according to the researchers.
The study about this unique breath test is made possible through the efforts of Ohio State University's Pelagia-Irene Gouma, a professor from the Department of Materials Science and Engineering. She is also a researcher from the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering.
Milutin Stanaćević, an associate professor at Stony Brook University's Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering has collaborated with Gouma for the research.
According to Gouma, the current breathalyzer device makes use of biomarkers for the breath, in addition to the nanosensors for accurate detection.
"This is the first study to demonstrate the use of a nanosensor breathalyzer system to detect a viral infection from exhaled breath prints," Gouma added.
Breath Test Study
WFMJ reported that the study about the breath detector tool involves 46 patients with acute respiratory failure. At the time of the study, they were in the intensive care unit.
The research found out that half of the patients have been infected by the coronavirus infection. The rest were not affected. On the same day, they also underwent the standard PCR COVID-19 test.
On the first, third, seventh, and 10th day of the patient's day, the researchers gathered the exhaled breath inside a bag. They conducted a thorough examination of samples in the lab within four hours of collecting them.
Upon entering the ICU, the breath print from the patients posted an 88% accuracy rate for those who have pneumonia.
The authors of the study noted that within 72 hours of respiratory failure, the breath test is capable of identifying a developing COVID-infection at an early stage.
To view the study entitled "Exhaled nitric oxide detection for diagnosis of COVID-19 in critically ill patients," visit Journals.plos.org for more information.
Various COVID-19 Detector
In April, there's an unusual device that could detect if you have a coronavirus infection through your voice. With the help of AI, Vocalis came up with the idea to predict the occurrence of COVID-19 on the characteristics of a person's voice.
In the following month, Tech Times reported that Singapore has approved the usage of the 60-sec breath test. In a single minute, you can now conclude if you are infected by the virus or not.
Related Article: Abu Dhabi COVID-19 Scanner Could Produce Results in Less Than Five Seconds--EDE Technology Impresses Citizens
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Written by Joseph Henry
