A New Breath Test Develped For COVID-19 Infection

Rapid breath tests for COVID-19 / Shutterstock.  Scientists at the  Ohio State University , sponsored by the  U.S. National Science Foundati...

Rapid breath tests for COVID-19 / Shutterstock. 

Scientists at the Ohio State University, sponsored by the U.S. National Science Foundation, are developing a breath test that uses nanosensors to screen for COVID-19. The device measures biomarkers in breath unique to the virus and can detect COVID-19 in 15 seconds.

An experimental Breathalyzer-type test can detect COVID-19 within seconds and could become a noninvasive, faster alternative to nasal swab tests, researchers report. COVID-19 infection produces a distinct breath print from the interaction of oxygen, nitric oxide, and ammonia in the body, the investigators say. 

An initial study of the breath test found that it accurately identified COVID-19 infections in almost 9 of 10 critically ill patients with the disease. The test can detect COVID-19 in exhaled breath within 15 seconds, according to the team that developed it. They’ve applied to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for emergency use authorization of the new technology. Results from the study were published in PLOS ONE.

"This novel breathalyzer technology uses nanosensors to identify and measure specific biomarkers in the breath," said scientist Pelagia-Irene Gouma. "This is the first study to demonstrate the use of a nanosensor breathalyzer system to detect a viral infection from exhaled breath prints."

Added lead researcher Matthew Exline, "The gold standard for diagnosis of COVID-19 is a PCR test that requires an uncomfortable nasal swab and time in a lab to process the sample and obtain the results. The breathalyzer test used in our study can detect COVID-19 within seconds."

Future studies will look at the use of the technology for less severe COVID-19 patients. Their study included 46 intensive care patients with acute respiratory failure who required mechanical ventilation. All of the patients had a PCR COVID-19 (nasal swab) test when they were admitted to the ICU, and half were found to have COVID-19. 

The researchers collected exhaled breath bags from all of the patients on day 1, 3, 7 and 10 of their hospitalization, and used the new breath test on the samples within four hours after collection. The test was 88% accurate in detecting