Thailand Develops Gadget To Detect COVID-19 From Armpit Sweat In Just Minutes
Image via ID 126296072 © Andrey Popov | Dreamstime.com
Thai researchers have been developing a portable COVID-19 gadget that can detect for the virus via a person’s sweat.
This week, they took the detector to the streets, testing it on shopkeepers at a food market in Bangkok. And it does seem this might actually work.
“From the samples, we found that people infected with COVID-19 secrete very distinct chemicals. We used this finding to develop a device to detect the specific odors produced by certain bacteria in the sweat of COVID-19 patients,” explained Chadin Kulsing from Bangkok’s Chulalongkorn University.
While Chadin believes the device’s test is 95% accurate, the gadget is still being developed in laboratories. Plus, the scientists’ research into armpit sweat from COVID-19 patients has yet to be published in a journal or peer-reviewed by other researchers.
According to Channel News Asia, the scientists hope this new gadget will become an affordable alternative to swab tests, which require processing in a laboratory. It could also provide faster results, especially for those working on the front-line.
To run the test, users will have to place a cotton swab under their arms for 15 minutes. Then, the swab is placed in a glass vial and sterilized using UV.
“The technician then draws an appropriate amount of the sample using a suction hose, and pressurizes it into the analyzer to check the results,” Chadin continued.
The results will appear in 30 seconds. So far, shopkeepers in Bangkok have expressed approval for the new gadget, saying it was a more comfortable experience than nasal swab tests, despite having to hold a cotton swab under your arms for 15 minutes.
“This sweat test is more convenient because I get to work while waiting for the results. With the PCR (nasal swab test), I’d have to be at a testing center, sit and wait for the result, and it just wastes my time,” a 43-year-old watermelon seller told AFP, as reported by CNA.
Hopefully, with the way in-person tests are going, Thai researchers can bring the device to market as soon as possible, so we won’t have to wait in line to get a test shoved up our noses anymore.
[via Channel News Asia, cover image via ID 126296072 © Andrey Popov | Dreamstime.com]
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