Ceiling Alarm Can ‘Detect Covid In A Room Within 15 Minutes’

Ceiling Alarm Can ‘Detect Covid In A Room Within 15 Minutes’.

IN a stunning new invention, scientists have designed an amazing new ceiling alarm which can ‘detect Covid in a room within 15 minutes’.

The device which can be mounted on the ceiling and appears similar to a standard smoke alarm is able to detect if anyone in the room has the potentially deadly coronavirus, in the space of minutes. The new device could even be as accurate as PCR laboratory tests, which currently set the gold standard in testing for Covid.

The new device could be used in multiple settings including aeroplanes, offices, care homes and even classrooms in a bid to prevent the ongoing coronavirus pandemic from spreading further.

The device has been developed by scientists at the Cambridgeshire firm Roboscientific. When a person is infected with the coronavirus their body produces “volatile organic compounds.” These compounds are too delicate to be detected by humans although sniffer dogs are able to detect them accurately.

This new device by Roboscientific is able to detect chemicals found in the breath of infected individuals. It is also able to detect chemicals which are produced by the skin too.

It is hoped that these devices could be used as an early warning system and the invention is currently being tested at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and Durham University. So far results seem to be positive.

At this current moment in time the devices are expensive as they cost around £5,000 for a single unit. But they only take a few minutes to sample the air and return their results. The results can even be sent to a computer or a mobile phone.

In other coronavirus detection news, Cover sniffing dogs are accurate but there could be problems with their widespread use.

According to studies the use of dogs for sniffing out Covid-19 infections is an excellent idea and is accurate, although there could be problems with using them on a larger scale. Some countries are already using Covid sniffing dogs in airports and their use at mass events is also being considered or is already in use in some countries.

In the United States Covid sniffing dogs are used at basketball games to sniff out possible infections in those attending the events.

There could be problems with the use of dogs to detect Covid though, as health experts and experts in training dogs to recognise scents, feel that more information is needed along with further planning to ensure their accuracy when used in real-life.

According to Cynthia M Otto, who is the director of the Penn Vet Working Dog Centre at the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine, “There are no national standards.”

For dogs that are used to detect drugs or even bombs, there are private groups set up to certify them, this applies to rescue dogs too. The problem is that sniffer dogs for medical issues, do not have any national standards to meet.

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