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Israel: they create a test that in 30 seconds detects coronavirus by cell phone

2020-07-25T15:13:12.139Z


You have to expire through the nose and the result jumps from the phone thanks to the smell it captures. The government of that country, which is going through a severe regrowth after the lack of confidence, said that the new kit "can change things."


07/25/2020 - 12:00

  • Clarín.com
  • International

An Israeli company developed a test that detects the coronavirus - not the antibodies - in 30 seconds thanks to odors, with the aim of carrying out large-scale tests and allowing "a return to normality", at a time when Israel suffers a second wave of infections .

The NanoScent company, a start-up company specializing in odor analysis thanks to algorithms and based in Misgav, northern Israel, developed a test that suggests alcohol tests, with the difference of that you have to breathe out through the nose - and not through the mouth - into a tube located in one of the nostrils.

Then that tube is connected to a small device - in turn connected to a mobile phone - which hums slightly as it sucks in the air. In a few seconds, the result appears on the phone: "COVID-19 negative," says the AFP agency after a visit to learn about the test at one of the NanoScent laboratories.

A technique from laboratory NanoScent's, in the Israeli industrial area of ​​Misgav, analyzes samples from the new test.

When the new coronavirus began to spread around the world, the Israeli company wondered how to put its innovations at the service of the fight against the pandemic. Now much of his activity is linked to that combat. The company has analyzed the breath of thousands of contaminated Israelis and then identified the specific odors of those who carry the virus.

"You can detect who it is, or who could be contaminated by the virus," said Oren Gavriely, CEO of NanoScent. Ongoing trials in Israel have given results close to 85% accuracy . The technology, which could receive authorization to go to market, is being tested in the framework of a pilot project carried out in Europe , the director told AFP.

For the Israeli government, the test "can turn things around" and quickly restore the sense of security necessary to return to normalcy.

This technology seems "very promising," said Nadav Davidovitch, director of the school of public health at Ben-Gurion University in Beer Sheva. If the detection kit receives a green light from the authorities, "I am totally in favor" of the product, he assured AFP. For NanoScent, this olfactory test should not replace laboratory tests .

The objective is rather to be able to use it at the entrance of show halls, stadiums, hospitals or airports. If the result is positive, people should undergo a laboratory test to confirm or not the diagnosis. The advantage of the kit, in addition to the speed to obtain the result, is its "negligible" price  compared to the test carried out in a laboratory, Gavriely said.

The project has had the support of the research and development department of the Israeli Defense Ministry. This test could "change things" highlights Daniel Gold , head of this department.

Israel boasted until recently of managing the pandemic, but the number of new patients has skyrocketed after the lack of confidence. And the government is now criticized for its approach to the virus and for the economic difficulties caused by the pandemic.

A woman is arrested yesterday in Jerusalem by Israeli police during a protest against the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Israel, with 9 million inhabitants, has had more than 56,700 cases of contamination, and 430 deaths, according to the latest official balance. In recent days, up to 1,000 new cases have been registered daily, and there were even 2,000 only on Wednesday.

In this context, Gavriely says he hopes that his test can contribute to a massive detection that "allows to recover a feeling of security and resume a normal life."

Source: clarin

All news articles on 2020-07-25

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