Chapter 1: The Need for Quick Testing

Every week, I visit my 93-year-old mother-in-law, who has several health issues that elevate her risk for COVID-19. After attending an outdoor gathering at a friend's house, I was eager to test myself for the virus before seeing her. Unfortunately, the current testing options do not allow for rapid results.

The gathering took place outdoors with tables spaced apart on the lawn. To manage the food situation, the hosts cleverly hired a food truck. Guests could help themselves to drinks from a keg or a cooler filled with cans and bottles, and hand sanitizer was available at the beverage station.

Most attendees were either friends of the graduate or in the same age group as the parents, with a few older individuals who were clearly in the high-risk category for COVID-19.

Some guests wore masks, while others did not. Those who opted for face coverings generally kept them on when ordering food, but they had to remove them to eat and drink. As the event progressed, fewer people chose to wear masks.

A band was performing, complicating conversations even further. To hear someone speak through a mask, you had to be within a close distance, which was difficult with the music playing.

After the event, despite my precautions—wearing a mask except when eating or with my "social bubble"—I couldn't shake the feeling that I might have been exposed to the virus. The current tests require 4-5 days post-exposure to yield detectable results, and the wait for results can span from 2 days to over two weeks. This left me unable to confirm if I was an asymptomatic carrier before my next visit with my elderly mother-in-law.

Ideally, I would have preferred to take a test at home or at a nearby facility on the day of my visit, receiving results within a few minutes to a couple of hours. A quick morning test would have allowed me to inform her whether it was safe for us to meet.

Fortunately, advancements in testing are on the horizon. Researchers at Ohio State University are developing a handheld "breathalyzer" that identifies specific molecules linked to infectious diseases.

The first video titled "How to breathe if you have a respiratory infection like COVID-19" explains proper breathing techniques that can help those dealing with respiratory infections.

A hospital in France is also trialing a larger machine designed to detect COVID-19 via breath samples. Meanwhile, companies are recognizing the market potential for these devices. Nanoscent, an Israeli firm, is working on a mass testing device that screens large groups of people by analyzing exhaled air.

An Israeli research team at Ben-Gurion University is creating a detector that utilizes spectroscopy to identify virus vibrations in breath. In Finland, Deep Sensing Algorithms is collaborating with Helsinki's innovation company, Forum Virium, to develop a cost-effective breath test that detects volatile organic compounds. The results will be sent to a cloud-based system for AI analysis to determine COVID-19 status.

Such breathalyzer tests wouldn't need to be specific to COVID-19 alone; they could also indicate the presence of the flu or other contagious respiratory illnesses. Companies like Astrotech in the US are working on devices like the BreathTest-1000 to identify respiratory infections.

These innovative tools could be invaluable for screening infectious diseases in workplaces, schools, airports, and healthcare settings. If implemented widely, they could become as commonplace as blood pressure monitors found in pharmacies.

However, while these devices may yield false positives, it is crucial that they maintain low rates of false negatives. A false positive could lead to unnecessary quarantines, while a false negative could create a false sense of security, potentially allowing the virus to spread further.

Chapter 2: The Future of Breath Testing

The second video titled "Test Your Lung's Capacity | Exercise for Healthy Lungs" provides insights into exercises that can help maintain lung health.

As researchers continue to explore these technologies, the hope is that we will soon have reliable methods for quick and easy testing for respiratory illnesses, paving the way for safer interactions in our communities.