Covid 19 Coronavirus: Breath Test Device Developed, Dunedin Child Care Staff Tests It

A prototype respiration testing device that can instantly detect if a person has Covid-19 was showcased yesterday in Dunedin, and it could be a “game changer” in how we live in the world with the virus.

The device’s New Zealand distributor, Boskein Science, was at the Jade Star Child Care and Learning Center in Caversham yesterday, giving teaching staff the opportunity to try it out.

Boskein’s technical advisor John Rawcliffe said the device was designed in Finland and has been used in the medical field for the early detection of a large number of medical cases in recent years.

It had now been developed to detect Covid-19, and it could put an end to the nasty and time-consuming nasal swabs used to detect the virus today.

The prototype was going through a regulatory approval process and was expected to be widely available in New Zealand next month, he said.

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“It’s a simple test where you blow into the device, much like [police alcohol] breathalyser.

“It tests your breath for volatile organic compounds (VOCs).

“Up to 30 compounds are tested immediately, and in a minute it can tell you if you have Covid-19 or not. It’s that simple.

“It’s pretty effective when you think about it, because it’s testing your breath, and that’s obviously where [Covid-19] comes and how we transmit it.

“It is the point of contact.”

It could even detect if someone had Covid-19 before they started showing symptoms, Rawcliffe said.

“I hate to use the word game changer, let’s wait until it’s approved, but this allows us to have more effective outbreak management, more effective controls to ensure there is no outbreak.

“If we are going to effectively manage the impact of this virus, we need to look for different tools and different technologies to do so.”

He said the machine could be used at the New Zealand border, or even at the gates of high-community areas, such as schools and workplaces, to test people before they enter.

“It would increase the level of confidence in the control we have over this virus.

“It is a tool that can really help us get back to normal.”