A Rapid Breathalyzer Diagnostics Platform for COVID-19

We propose to develop a novel testing platform that detects SARS-CoV-2 virions in a patient’s breath. When a person exhales into the COVID breathalyzer, droplets and other emitted particles are captured by a liquid impactor inside the collection unit. Subsequently, the captured particles are deposited onto a microfluidic chip that contains the nanowell sensors (patent pending) capable of detecting the presence of SARS-CoV-2 virus. The device will provide results within a time frame of 20 minutes using an impedance measurement approach. Importantly, we propose to develop a novel platform technology that could be easily adapted to future needs and challenges, not only as the virus causing COVID-19 evolves in future years, but also to provide multiplexing capabilities to detect multiple viruses in tandem. The target product profile (TPP) of our solution will stand out against the current and future standard of care in viral antigen screening tests as a new disposable breathalyzer that is not invasive compared to traditional sampling techniques, is easy to use with rapid point of care results, and has accurate reporting with high sensitivity and specificity.