This alarm invention detects COVID-19 in a room in 15 minutes

The invention of this alarm that can detect if someone in the room has COVID-19 was developed by Cambridgeshire firm Roboscientific in the UK, London. 

If find the current COVID-19 screening procedures too invasive, this is the kind of thing you would appreciate. No hand sanitizer, no temperature screening and no filling out of forms. 

The ceiling-mounted device is similar to a smoke alarm and could be as accurate as the gold standard COVID-19 PCR test, better known as the nose swab. 

 This invention is expected to play an important role in detecting cases in aeroplanes, classrooms, offices and care homes.

So, how the device work? 

It is placed on the ceiling, the wall or on a shelf. It then detects chemicals that are produced by the skin or are present in the breath of those infected with the virus. Every living organism has VOCs (volatile organic compounds) but COVID-19 positive people exude volatile organic compounds, which are too subtle - but not for this device's sensor. 

It takes between 15 and 30 minutes for the machines to sample the air in a large room and the results are instantly sent to a linked mobile device or computer

The COVID-19 Room Monitor is being tested by scientists at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and UK-based Durham University – and early results have been positive.

While the data is yet to be peer-reviewed, initial indications suggest it could be 98 to 100% accurate, far more reliable than the lateral flow tests currently being used in a range of settings.

The detectors could find people with the virus even if they are yet to show symptoms, making it more effective than PCR tests that have been found inadequate for asymptomatic carriers

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asymptomatic_carrier

So many people on our team would appreciate this detector for different reasons: 

• Darren, because it is less invasive and is more reliable than any other screening procedure.
• Keri, because the admin of screening is just so much work
• Sky, because of how reliable than other screening procedures when it comes to the results

We just hope it will not need one to dig deep into their pockets to get it. 

Main Image Courtesy: RoboScientific