Cool breathalyzer idea for nearly instant COVID testing, although it's difficult to judge, since they haven't published their method or any results yet. The story says they're analyzing breath gases (presumably O2, COW and maybe trace levels of H2S or NH3) and presumably have noticed differences in these gases in infected vs. uninfected people, but they're clearly not measuring viral RNA, which is what the viral PCR test does. Unless they're actually doing some measure of organic matter in the breath, since virus particles in one's breath certainly contain proteins and RNA, which are organic molecules (maybe a flame ionization detector?) and uninfected people likely just don't have that much organic matter in their breath.
Nano sensors inside the breathalyzer detect different gases that people’s lungs produce. The company says that it identifies the virus, like an instant blood test.
https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/coronavirus/labs-race-to-find-more-efficient-covid-19-tests/2327743/
Would be cool if this actually works though, as we need a nearly instant test that's pretty accurate in order to truly open things like entertainment/sports/food/bar venues (could do these at entrances or maybe require one to be run that day and have proof of it) - I was hoping for an instant antigen test in a finger-prick of blood, which would be more specific for the virus than this test, but the accuracy and speed just aren't there yet and PCR testing will likely never be fast enough for close to real time "clearance" for an event.
One also has to worry a bit about the accuracy of any such test (breathalyzer, antigen, etc.) as it will likely be a function of stage of the infection, since that affects number of viral particles in one's breath (and sneezes/coughs) and is part of why we see so many false negatives (>20%) in the viral PCR test, since viral load is often low at that time. As an aside, the dose received is known to significantly influence the seriousness of one's infection, based on animal testing and indirect evaluations with human viruses (we can't ethically do such tests with COVID).
