Covid breath test being developed to give results within one minute
Scientists are developing a non-invasive Covid-19 breath test which will allow people to receive their results in less than one minute.
The new technology uses ‘breath signatures’ to ‘rapidly distinguish Covid-19 from other respiratory conditions’. It is being worked on as part of a project known as TOXI-Triage, funded by the European Commission.
The researchers said their findings could dramatically improve the experience of taking a coronavirus test, as well as ‘play a part in restarting the economy’.
Emma Brodrick, systems application manager at the Imspex Group, a diagnostics company based in Wales and collaborating on the research, emphasised that it would be a step away from the current invasive tests which require a sample to be taken.
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She noted that results for the ‘minimally invasive’ test are produced ‘within one minute’.
NHS trusts in Scotland, Klinikum Dortmund in Germany and Loughborough University are all working on the project. Paul Thomas, professor of analytical science at Loughborough University, said the team had been encouraged by the findings, but added that more data is required to complete the test.
He said: ‘If shown to be reliable, it offers the possibility for rapid identification or exclusion of Covid-19 in emergency departments or primary care that will protect healthcare staff, improve the management of patients and reduce the spread of Covid-19.’
A small study of the test has already taken place with 98 patients, 31 of whom had coronavirus. Scientists aimed to identify the biomarkers present in the breath of someone affected by Covid-19 and distinguish those signatures from other respiratory tract infections.
Led by Loughborough University, the TOXI-Triage project was launched four years ago with the aim to determine the most effective ways to give medical and toxic assessments to the casualties of a chemical, biological, radioactive or nuclear event.
The team involved in the project repurposed some of the existing technology to design a Covid-19 breath test.
Santi Dominguez, chief executive of the Imspex Group, said: ‘The Imspex Group is very pleased that our groundbreaking technology has delivered these exciting results.
‘They offer the possibility not only to dramatically improve people’s experience of taking a Covid-19 test but also to play a part in restarting the economy through rapid screening of large numbers of people at airports and other transportation hubs, for example.
‘What will be needed now will be to rapidly acquire more data to continue to develop the test, and institutional and investor support to scale our manufacturing capability.’
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