A SENSOR THAT CAN SMELL COVID-19 ON INFECTED PEOPLE.

Scientists have said: A ceiling-mounted device has been developed which can detect whether individuals in the room have Covid-19 in 15 minutes.

Researches from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine(LSHTM) and the biotech company RoboScientific with Durham University, study tested devices with Organic semiconductor sensors which could potentially be used as a Screening tool for Covid-19. They anticipate this sensor can be used in public spaces where the risk of transmitting the disease can be high.

It has been founded in research that Covid-19 infection has its own distinct smell. These odor results from changes in VOC compound which make body odor that the sensor can detect.

A team of 54 individuals donated their body odor sample of work socks - 27 covid-19 positives who asymptotic or had mild symptoms and 27 individuals were uninfected. Samples were analyzed by the developed sensor Roboscientifc’s Model 307B VOC analyzer fitted with an array of 12 OSC sensors. on the first day of tests, the device achieved an average of 98% specificity (meaning a low risk of false-positive results) and an average of 99% sensitivity (meaning a low risk of false-negative results). on the second day of testing the sensors achieved 100% sensitivity and specificity, suggesting they can detect the presence of covid-19 infection more accurately than any other diagnostic test available.

RoboScientific is developing two types of devices based on this research:

Ceiling - mounted and Handheld. The ceiling-mounted system could be used in crowded places such as commercial Aircraft, Schools, Shopping Malls, Offices, etc which will low the transmission risk of the virus. However, These sensors can only detect the presence of a virus at that place, not exactly the person carrying it. But they could serve as a quick first screening system, helping to save time and money in the fight against coronavirus.

Professor James Logan, head of the Department of Disease Control at LSHTM, who led the study, said: “These results are really promising and demonstrate the potential for using this technology as a rapid, non-invasive test with incredible accuracy. However, further testing is required to confirm if these results can be replicated in real-world settings.“If these devices are successfully developed for use in public places, they could be affordably and easily scaled up. They also could protect people against future disease outbreaks, with the capability to develop sensor arrays to detect other diseases within a number of weeks.”