BreathTest-1000 coronavirus screening instrument : Astrotech said that it is developing the BreathTest-1000 screening instrument for coronavirus (COVID-19) and the associated pneumonia, and also other lung diseases.

The Texas-based technology incubator said that the new instrument will be able to screen for volatile organic compound (VOC) metabolites found in the breath of subjects that could give an indication if there is an infection.

Astrotech is of the belief that its mass spectrometry technology, which was developed initially in collaboration with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), and the US Army, is appropriate for lung disease testing applications, which are currently under development.

Designed to be inexpensive, small, rugged and fast, the Astrotech mass spectrometry technology is said to be easy to use for monitoring air quality and for tracing detection of chemical warfare agents, narcotics, and explosives.

Certified by the European Civil Aviation Conference (ECAC), the mass spectrometry technology from Astrotech has been currently deployed in air cargo facilities across the European Union.

Astrotech believes that the technology can be designed as an instrument that can be deployed on the field as drive-up testing facilities to quickly, under one minute, and easily test for the volatile organic compound metabolites in the breath of coronavirus and pneumonia infected patients.

According to Astrotech, the BreathTest-1000 coronavirus screening test can be carried out at the point-of-care while the screening results are almost instantaneous. However, the company said that the BreathTest-1000 screening test for coronavirus is not likely to be as accurate as laboratory DNA testing, but could be a good quick screening device for field applications.

Commenting on the BreathTest-1000 coronavirus screening test, Thomas B. Pickens III – Chairman and CEO of Astrotech said: “With the Coronavirus pandemic impacting millions of families around the globe, we are now very focused on the development of a rugged, inexpensive, quick, and easy to use testing platform that can be deployed to thousands of point-of-care locations worldwide, if approved. This is an incredibly scalable solution that is very much needed to screen as many people as possible in the shortest time.”

  BreathTest-1000, Coronavirus, COVID-19, pneumonia, Thomas B. Pickens III