Coronavirus breath test: All you need to know about this new COVID testing method

When infected with coronavirus, the RT-PCR (Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction) test is considered a gold standard to detect the presence of the virus in the body. The only problem is that it takes about 24 hours to get the result, which can delay the treatment. A rapid antigen test is much quicker, just that it fails to provide an accurate result in some cases. In both these tests, the swab samples are taken from the nose and mouth, where the virus is believed to be present in the highest quantity. Now, a new COVID-19 test has recently been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which analyses your breath instead of your swab, making the entire process much easier.

If you have ever given your sample for COVID-19 testing, you will agree that the process of taking a swab from the nose and mouth can be quite uncomfortable. With this new breath testing method, COVID testing would become much easier. Moreover, it will provide the result within three minutes. Till now it has only been authorised for use in doctor's offices, hospitals, and mobile testing sites in the USA. It is done with the help of a testing machine known as the InspectIR COVID-19 Breathalyzer. It is about the size of a piece of carry-on luggage. The breathalyzer provides a quick and accurate result, but the FDA has recommended people get a backup PCR test if they have a positive result with this method.

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In this breath test, patients have to breathe into a tube connected to the test kit. The machine performs the test for three minutes, which could only be done under the supervision of a trained nurse and doctor. The machine helps to detect the presence of the compound in your mouth linked with SARS-CoV-2 to give a positive or a negative result. When infected with COVID-19, a special type of compound called Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) can be detected in the mouth. The machine uses the technique called gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) to separate and identify five VOCs and detect if the person is COVID positive or not.

Even though this new technique of detecting coronavirus infection provides an accurate result, it is recommended to get the RT-PCR test after testing positive for 100 per cent surety. If the test results are negative, it would be considered as the basis of treatment depending on the patient's recent exposures, history and signs and symptoms of COVID-19 infection.

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Due to its high speed and simple working technique, one InspectIR COVID-19 Breathalyzer can evaluate 160 samples daily. That would take the monthly testing numbers to 64,000 samples. However, people who test positive from a breathalyzer may need to undergo an RT-PCR test, yet, the new testing machine will be able to speed up the entire process. As per the FDA, the InspectIR COVID-19 Breathalyzer may provide accurate results in 91 per cent positive cases and 99 per cent precision in negative cases.