Singapore's Health Sciences Authority (HSA) has given provisional authorization for an easy-to-use breath test that can detect Covid-19 within a minute. The new device is developed by Breathonix Pte Ltd, a spin-off company from the National University of Singapore (NUS) that develops easy breath tests for disease detection.
Breathonix's Covid test: All you need to know
In usual cases, a Covid infection is being identified using RT-PCR tests where the swab of the patient is taken to detect the presence of the virus. However, BreFence Go Covid-19 Breath Test System developed by Breathonix works almost like a standard breathalyzer test that Indian police use to identify drunk-and-drive cases.
While using this device, the person should blow into a one-way valve mouthpiece attached to a breath sampler. The exhaled breath will be fed into a spectrometer, and an algorithm will analyze the volatile organic compounds (VOC) to detect the presence of the virus.
Breathonix aims to redefine Covid testing
Even though vaccination rollout is progressing steadily in various countries, screening is very much important to identify people who could be carriers of coronavirus. The new test is affordable and non-invasive, and it does not demand the service of a healthcare professional.
"We are proud to play a part in Singapore's fight against Covid-19 by turning our cancer detection technology into a system that rapidly screens for the coronavirus. After months of hard work, we are delighted that the BreFence Go Covid-19 Breath Test System is now ready to be deployed to protect the nation," said Du Fang, chief operating officer of Breathonix.
Breathonix claims that the new breathalyzer device has an accuracy rate of 85.7 percent in sensitivity, and 97 percent in specificity without AI. The company also made it clear that it is currently working to increase the accuracy level of Covid breath tests.
