New breath test could detect virus in seconds Early trials of a new test for covid-19 open up the possibility of rapid identificatio for the disease in just seconds rather than hours. Research shows breath analysis developed in Wales may be able to distinguish Covid-19 from other chest infections almost instantly
But as coronavirus became a global pandemic, the firm took the decision to focus its diagnostic efforts on the emerging disease. “We do have experience in that area, and experience in its implementation. When Covid came along, it made us divert in that direction and to contribute to the effort,� added the Imspex chief.
Results published by the Lancet follow trials in Scotland and Germany and developers Imspex Diagnostics said its devices could be ready to use in six months - if they can secure Two trials have now been carried out using funding. the firm's technology, on hospital patients in Edinburgh and in Dortmund, Germany, early In a statement online founder and chief in the Covid outbreak. executive Santi Dominguez. Said: "The potential, I think, is very exciting," The study, led by Loughborough University, evolved from the university's work "Being so immediate, you could see many on its toxi-triage project to help emergency different applications outside a traditional services in civil disasters. hospital environment. Researchers tried to pinpoint whether the "You could see the potential in aviation, you machines could tell the difference between a could see it in transportation in general, you patient with Covid-19 or another type of chest could see it in immigration. infection. "You could take a quick sample, it's non-invasive, you don't need a particularly specialised person to collect those samples - and a few minutes later you get a result." These machines were developed by Imspex at its headquarters in the Cynon Valley in south Wales. Originally, the technology was being used to develop tests to detect illnesses such as lung cancer, and how to distinguish between bacterial and viral respiratory diseases quickly.
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The equipment is analysing single breath samples, looking for volatile chemicals present in the expelled air that might give scientists a clue to why a patient was sick and had respiratory issues. The tests were able to make out a signature for Covid in the chemicals and then confirmed by more traditional, and invasive, swab tests. In approximately 80% of cases, they were able to accurately predict if the patient had Covid-19 - distinguishing the illness from other breathing problems such as asthma or bacterial pneumonia. In the Edinburgh study, the researchers also identified chemical compounds that had a significant predictive power for the severity of the Covid infection, and whether it may cause a fatality.
