Dutch comes up with new breath test to detect coronavirus in minutes
A man demonstrates how a COVID-19 breath test works in Amsterdam, Netherlands. File / Reuters
Gulf Today Report
As the world struggles to contain coronavirus pandemic, the Netherlands has come with a breath test to detect coronavirus within minutes.
The new test, which is a less intrusive procedure, can speed up the testing process.
Testing facilities in Amsterdam were this week the first to start using the SpiroNose, a machine that requires a person to breathe into it to indicate a possible coronavirus infection within a minute.
The machine, which was originally developed to detect asthma and lung cancer, had collected enough data to prove that it can reliably spot a possible coronavirus infection also.
The machine is developed by Dutch health tech company Breathomix,
A positive test needed to be followed by a regular polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test to establish whether the detected infection was caused by a coronavirus.
The Dutch health service has ordered around 1,800 machines with plans to introduce them in test facilities across the country in coming months.
As the machine is also sensitive to alcohol, smoke and other distracting factors in a person's breath, it will not offer a direct solution for reopening venues to large audiences.
