CovidAir, virus detection is a breeze
Audio 02:12
A woman blows into an instrument being tested to detect Covid-19 at the Palais des Sports, transformed into a test center, in Lyon on April 8, 2021. AFP - JEAN-PHILIPPE KSIAZEK
By: Dominique Desaunay Follow
6 mins
A multidisciplinary team of French researchers is working on the validation of a new method to detect Covid-19 using a device capable of identifying and quantifying gas molecules in a sample of air exhaled by our lungs.
As easy and quick to use as a breathalyzer, the instrument which is the subject of a clinical study called CovidAir is being tested at the screening center at the Palais des Sports de Gerland in Lyon.
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The composition of the
air
exhaled by our lungs varies according to our state of health.
During a viral infection, for example, our cells produce biochemical compounds corresponding to this contamination, the infinitesimal trace of which is found in our
breathing
.
To take advantage of this biological phenomenon, a consortium of researchers from Lyon is testing this detection method with a device usually used to measure environmental pollution or identify cases of doping in sports, details Christian George CNRS research director at
IrceLyon
, the Lyon Catalysis and Environment Research Institute.
"
To set up this project, our team, specialized in air pollution problems, brought its expertise which has been developed in our laboratories over the years in terms of chemical analysis of volatile organic compounds, the famous VOCs. And a few months ago, we asked ourselves the question of applying our know-how to the detection of the Covid-19 virus. The measuring instrument that we use makes it possible to carry out an extremely fine and complete analysis of the composition of the air exhaled by our lungs, that is to say several thousand compounds per second and among these gaseous molecules we identify the present or absent chemical imprint. of the Covid-19 virus, which makes it possible to make a diagnosis. The clinical study of CovidAir is presented as follows:people coming to be checked at the screening center managed by the Hospices de Lyon at the Palais des Sports in Gerland do their PCR tests, we then suggest that they volunteer to participate in the CovidAir study. We ask them to blow into the tube of the machine. The advantage of this method is that one breath is enough for us to indicate whether the person is infected or not.
"
The results of the
CovidAir
clinical study
are expected before the start of the summer vacation.
If the experiment is conclusive, this new type of Covid-19 detector could be rapidly deployed on a large scale in all places requiring rapid diagnosis, such as hospitals, airports, stadiums, fairs, exhibitions, etc. concert halls or cultural centers.
But beyond the pandemic, a new field for the screening of respiratory pathologies is emerging.
Researchers are already thinking of transposing the concept to other diseases such as
legionellosis
or cancer.
A detector that would also make it possible to monitor patients by informing therapists in real time about the effect of a treatment, a vaccination or a drug.
You have questions or suggestions, you can write to us at
news.technologies@rfi.fr
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