Singapore regulators has approved a Covid-19 breath test that aims to show accurate results in one minute.
According to TAIPEI TIMES, Singapore authorities have provisionally approved a COVID-19 breath analysis test that aims to show whether someone is infected with the novel coronavirus in under a minute, the local start-up that developed the product said.
Breathonix, a spin-off company from the National University of Singapore, said it is now working with the Ministry of Health to run a deployment trial of the technology at one of the city-state’s border points with Malaysia.
The breath analysis would be carried out alongside the current compulsory antigen rapid test.
The breath test achieved more than 90 percent accuracy in a Singapore-based pilot clinical trial, the company said last year.
TAIPEI TIMES mentions, the Health Sciences Authority’s Web site confirmed the approval, which the company said was the first such system to secure provisional authorization in Singapore.
The system uses disposable mouthpieces and is designed to ensure there is no cross-contamination. After blowing into the device, the technology assesses the chemical compounds of the breath to determine whether a person is infected.
Any individual screened as positive will need to undergo a confirmatory polymerase chain reaction COVID-19 swab test, the company said.
TAIPEI TIMES says, Breathonix said it is in discussion with several local and overseas organizations to use the system, citing strong commercial interest.
Other countries, including Indonesia and the Netherlands, have rolled out similar breath tests.
