Texas A&M researchers and a Dallas artificial intelligence company are developing a rapid COVID-19 test that would use a breathalyzer, rather than a swab, and potentially make it safer to hold large gatherings.
The testing device, housed in a kiosk that can fit in the back of an SUV, could be set up outside of large group settings such as schools, churches and corporate offices. People would step up to the device and with a disposable straw, blow into a copper hole on the front of the kiosk.
The system captures the user’s breath and analyzes it for compounds that a body generates when it’s fighting SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes the COVID-19. Users would receive the results within a minute of the test through a mobile app.
“It’s all about establishing a controlled environment where people can interact and have confidence about it,” said Rob Gorham, executive director of SecureAmerica Institute, a network of public institutions and private manufacturing and technology companies based at Texas A&M. “It can create more normalcy around establishing these trusted group settings, whether it be an airplane or a football stadium.”
PROGRESS MADE: Vaccine studied at Baylor, Galveston's UTMB highly effective in preventing COVID-19
The device, called Worlds Protect, is a collaboration between Texas A&M researchers, who developed the hardware for the testing systems and Worlds Inc., which developed the artificial intelligence software. Texas A&M invested $1 million in Worlds Protect’s development.
Food and Drug Administration regulators are still evaluating the device for public use under an emergency use authorization before it heads into mass production. If approved, Worlds Inc. and SecureAmerica could begin manufacturing dozens of kiosks as soon as March 2021.
Each device would cost an estimated $5,000 per month to lease, and each test would cost less than 50 cents, said Worlds Inc. co-founder Dave Copps. The first 1,000 devices would be manufactured at A&M before bringing in another manufacturer.
The idea for the breathalyzer devices was born in Houston, where Copps and his business partner, Chris Rohde, were visiting in March to show an artificial intelligence system that could detect chemical leaks from oil and gas refineries. As cities across the county began imposing stay-at-home orders the second week of March, Copps and Rohde considered another application for their AI software.
Their company re-engineered the artificial intelligence and sensor system used to detect chemical leaks to detect the compounds in people’s breaths when they are infected with COVID-19. It would take until September for Texas A&M and Worlds Inc. to finalize the design of the testing device. Researchers hope to test two people per minute on each breathalyzer kiosk.
The kiosk superheats the copper hole and other parts of the breathalyzer system between uses to sanitize and prevent contamination. Artificial intelligence uses the data recorded from each test to improve the accuracy of the test.
So far, researchers have tested the technology on students at Texas A&M and Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah along with airmen at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio. More than 650 people have been tested, according to Worlds Inc.
FUTURE IS FILTRATION: Houston researchers roll out COVID-killing machines
Five prototype kiosks are being installed on Texas A&M’s flagship campus in College Station, where students and faculty will be tested on both breathalyzers and so-called gold standard molecular tests. Researchers will use the molecular tests to fine-tune the accuracy of the breathalyzer.
Other prototypes will be installed at U.S. Air Force bases around the country, including Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland.
Eventually, Copps and Rohde hope to add a component to the device that detects both COVID-19 and influenza.
“Every breath into the device is an incredible teaching opportunity,” Copps said.
gwendolyn.wu@chron.com
twitter.com/gwendolynawu
"company" - Google News
November 19, 2020 at 10:00PM
https://ift.tt/3pMUUIK
New breathalyzer from Texas A&M, Dallas company might detect COVID-19 in a minute or less - Houston Chronicle
"company" - Google News
https://ift.tt/33ZInFA
https://ift.tt/3fk35XJ
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "New breathalyzer from Texas A&M, Dallas company might detect COVID-19 in a minute or less - Houston Chronicle"
Post a Comment