A non-invasive coronavirus breath test that could deliver results within one minute is being developed by UK scientists.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The technology, originally designed as part of a project known as TOXI-Triage, would use "breath signatures" to "rapidly distinguish COVID-19 from other respiratory conditions".
Researchers say their findings, published in The Lancet's EclinicalMedicine journal, could dramatically improve the experience of taking a virus test as well as "play a part in restarting the economy".
Led by Loughborough University, the TOXI-Triage project was launched four years ago with the aim of determining the most effective ways to give medical and toxic assessments to the casualties of a chemical, biological, radioactive or nuclear event.
The team involved repurposed some of the existing the technology to design a COVID breath test.
Emma Brodrick at Imspex Group, a diagnostics company based in Wales and collaborating on the research, said the two leading virus tests - antigen detection and PCR - utilise invasive means of taking samples, which can be uncomfortable for the patient and may discourage some.
"We are excited to be working with NHS trusts in Scotland, Klinikum Dortmund in Germany and Loughborough University to develop a minimally invasive test that produces results rapidly - indeed in TOXI-Triage, our results were within one minute," she said
Paul Thomas, professor of analytical science from Loughborough University's Department of Chemistry, said the team was encouraged by the findings but added more data was required to develop the test.
"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," Prof Thomas said.
The researchers recruited 98 patients for the small study, of whom 31 had coronavirus.
Their aim was to identify the biomarkers present in the breath of someone affected by COVID-19 and distinguish those signatures from other respiratory tract infections.
Australian Associated Press