With over 245 million cases of coronavirus worldwide and 4.​96 million deaths, rapid screening is urgently needed. The integration of engineering and basic science has resulted in impactful biomedical advancement to make this possible. Dr. Shalini Prasad and her team at the University of Texas at Dallas have teamed up with Dallas-based SOTECH Health to develop a breakthrough device that can detect COVID-19 within 30 seconds.

A flyer has been created on this topic.

Together they have designed a highly sensitive electrochemical sensor system that can detect ultra-low concentrations of metabolites produced by the human body when the upper respiratory system has been infected. By combining this sensing technology with powerful artificial intelligence, a highly sensitive breath analyzer system for rapid screening individuals was developed. SOTECH Health is the commercialization partner bringing the product to market and the Food and Drug Administration is currently reviewing the device for emergency use authorization.1

Testing is needed to identify individuals who are transmitting infection as quickly as possible so they can be isolated and their contacts can be identified and quarantined. The best test is not necessarily one that determines whether a person has SARS-CoV-2, but one that quickly and accurately determines individuals who can spread the infection.

Tune in Wednesday, November 3rd from 3-4:00 PM to the Research 411 Talk Show: It’s All in Your Breath to learn more on this topic from Dr. Prasad.

  1. UT Dallas News Article published September 22, 2021.