S’pore Approves 2nd Covid-19 Breath Test, Accuracy Comparable To PCR

TracieX Covid-19 Breath Test Provides Accurate Results In 2 Mins

Less than a month ago, in May, the Health Sciences Authority (HSA) gave provisional authorisation to Singapore’s 1st Covid-19 breathalyser.

Now, a 2nd Covid-19 breath test – developed by Silver Factory Technology – has followed suit.

Generating results within 2 minutes, the test boasts a 95% accuracy in its clinical trials.

This makes the breathalyser almost as accurate as the Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) test, which is currently the definitive test for Covid-19.

2nd HSA-approved Covid-19 breath test

In a statement on Friday (11 Jun), the HSA revealed that they’ve provided provisional authorisation for the TracieX Breathalyser. This makes it the 2nd such breath test system after the Breathonix.

The system is the product of Silver Factory Technology, a spin-off company from the Nanyang Technological University (NTU).

For the breathalyser to work, a person has to blow into it for 10 seconds before capping it shut.

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Trained personnel will then insert the breathalyser into a portable reading device, which detects Covid-19 by analysing compounds in the person’s breath.

The device will then generate a ‘positive’ or ‘negative’ result within 2 minutes.

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Accuracy comparable to PCR tests

NTU stated in May that the TracieX breathalyser has undergone clinical trials on more than 1,400 individuals.

The trials were carried out at the following locations:

• National Centre for Infectious Diseases (NCID)
• Changi Airport Terminal 1
• 2 hospitals in Malaysia

Apart from being fast and non-invasive, the breath test has reportedly achieved a 95% accuracy in detecting positive Covid-19 cases.

This is a step up from Breathonix’s breathalyser, which claimed to have over 90% accuracy.

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The company, therefore, plans to mass-produce the breathalyser to aid in large-scale testing at airports and mass events.

More efficient detection of Covid-19

With Covid-19 likely becoming endemic, more convenient ways of testing for the virus are certainly welcome.

Not only will they help speed up the process of detecting and prevention, but they also promise greater comfort.

Therefore, many of us will likely be looking forward to the implementation of such tests at more places across Singapore.

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Featured image adapted from NTU Singapore and Facebook.