Technological Breakthroughs: NASA Begins Testing of Handheld COVID-19 Breathalyzer Device

A portable, handheld, easy-to-use breathalyzer device capable of accurately detecting the SARS-CoV-2 at the point of care would represent a game changer for COVID-19 diagnostics. And while inventing such a device is not exactly rocket science, the U.S. has called on its rocket scientists to make it happen. Last month, NASA announced plans to begin testing a prototype of such a device. The Diagnostic Challenge With the coronavirus in retreat, the priority for COVID-19 diagnostics developers is to create rapid and accurate point-of-care testing performed on a mass basis on both the symptomatic and asymptomatic. The current tests addressing this need are based on technology for detecting SARS-CoV-2 antibodies and antigen. While suitable for screening purposes, antibody and antigen testing is relatively lacking in sensitivity and accuracy. The label “rapid” also belies the fact that these tests do take minutes to process and do not deliver results immediately the way many tests do. All of this makes it worthwhile to explore the potential to develop new modalities using different biomarkers to detect the SARS-CoV-2 virus. One candidate is exhaled volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that could be detected via a rapid breath test. The E-Nose Breathalyzer The U.S. Department of Health […]