WASHINGTON – Most people who have taken a nasal swab test for COVID-19 will tell you that it is not a pleasant experience. Could there be an easier, and faster way to test for coronavirus? Scientists say there is and they are working on a “breathalyzer” device that works as a test for drunk driving.
An international research team is developing a prototype coronavirus Breathalyzer machine. This device scans the air after patients exhale, just as current breathalyzers detect alcohol particles in a person’s breath.
Currently, nasopharyngeal swabs are the gold standard for coronavirus testing. Healthcare professionals place a long pennant around a patient’s nose, collecting samples from the nasal passage and back of the throat. Once that uncomfortable part is over, technicians analyze these samples for genes from SARS-CoV-2 – the virus that causes COVID-19.
Not only is this process unusual for the patient, study authors say it also involves a time-consuming lab test called RT-PCR. With so many people going through the whole tests, it can take several medical offices before they get results.
Researchers Hossam Haick, Hu Liu, Yueyin Pan, and others say they hope their prototype health care systems can provide a faster option. Adding a COVID-19 breathalyzer will also be cheaper to use and easier to operate.
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The report in ACS Nano explains that viruses normally emit volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that can excrete a body through your breath. The new invention uses a nanomaterial-based sensor to detect SARS-CoV-2 in these exhaled particles. This sensor is made of gold nanoparticles linked to molecules that are sensitive to contact with VOCs.
As the virus connections interact with these molecules, so does the electrical resistance of the sensor. The scientists teach their breathalyzer to specifically search for the specific resistance signal created by COVID-19 particles.
To do this, the study used breath samples from 49 patients with coronavirus, 58 healthy participants, and 33 people with non-coronavirus lung infections in Wuhan, China. All volunteers blew into the machine for two to three seconds while standing less than two inches away. This allowed the machine to not only learn the difference between people with or without COVID, but also differences in other infections.
Follow-up test results show an impressive start for the coronavirus breathalyzer. Researchers report that the device has 76 percent accuracy when comparing COVID-19 cases with healthy patients. That score jumps to 95 percent accuracy when comparing coronavirus patients with other lung infections. The breathalyzer can also tell the difference between current and recovered patients with 88 percent accuracy.
The study notes that the invention requires even more testing with more patients, but it is the first step toward a rapid screening process.
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