Covid diagnosis from breath, Italians test device that ‘stores’ swab

Discover Covid-19 from the breath. It is called ‘CoronaCheck’ and a portable device for the detection of Sars-Cov-2 that could soon replace antigenic and molecular swabs, because it is able to detect the presence of the virus from the exhaled or from the air exhaled from our body. This is a technology owned by Exhalation Technology Ltd, a British start-up that has chosen Irccs Maugeri of Telese Terme (Benevento) and the team of Mauro Maniscalco, head of the Rehabilitation Pneumology Unit, to carry out the experimentation of the device. Farrier and his team tested over 100 positive patients at the Covid Hospital in Boscotrecase (Na) of the ASL Napoli 3 (primary Francesco Stefanelli), in collaboration with the Institute of biomolecular chemistry of the CNR of Pozzuoli (responsible Andrea Motta). “The device – explains Maniscalco – is able to detect the presence or absence of the virus in the breath of subjects, both positive and negative, symptomatic and asymptomatic, through an electrochemical sensor that could soon be destined for mass production to meet the needs of screening at a global level. “The main strengths of the instrument – reports a note – are the speed of sample collection and analysis, and the non-invasiveness,” a test capable of offering a result in about six minutes “, as well as the ease of use, “as the sample does not require any further laboratory practice, and the portability of the device makes it usable in any place.” Exhalation Technology already collaborated with the team of Maniscalco researchers: last July – the note recalls – had undertaken a collaboration for clinical studies concerning a previous version of CoronaCheck, Inflammacheck *, used for the measurement of inflammatory states i of the respiratory tract by monitoring the hydrogen peroxide in Ebc in subjects suffering from chronic respiratory diseases (BPCO, asthma, idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, cystic fibrosis, etc.). “Due to the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic”, explains the pulmonologist, “the company has decided to internally modify the technology of its product in order to make it a quick and effective virus screening tool”.