Healthcare facilities such as the Mohammed Bin Rashid University of Medicine and Health Sciences (MBRU), Dubai Health Authority (DHA), and Breathonix Pte Ltd have recently been trying out a joint clinical trial of an easy breath test aimed at detection of covid-19 within just one minute.

All the trials are being conducted at the DHA’s NAdd Al Hamar primary healthcare center for around 2500 patients. The test has been developed by Bretoniz which is a spin-off company from the National University of Singapore. In line with the vision of the leadership of the UAE, DHA is keen to foster medical research and innovation, said the Director of Pathology and Genetics Department at the DHA, Dr. Hussain al Samt.

Breathonix earlier conducted a Singapore-based pilot involving 180 patients and achieved a sensitivity of 93 percent and the machine learning too was improved by 95 percent. The director of the department of DHA said that they have collaborated with both the national as well as international institutes to come up with a possible solution to make covid-19 tests easy.

“This technology is certainly very promising particularly because the speed of diagnosis is just 60 seconds per patient. This kind of rapid diagnosis has the potential to be a game-changer in the global fight against COVID-19,” he added.

Dr. Nada Al Mulla, the director of the DHA’s NAdd Al Hamar primary healthcare also talked about it saying that with the new technology, there will be a significant reduction in the amount of pressure on the laboratory processing. This will also increase the efficiency of the people especially in areas of high traffic, asserted the director.

As far as the role of MBRU is concerned, there is a huge role of the department in promoting medical research and operations in the country. The healthcare department will act as a catalyst in the field of medical research and innovation, said Dr. Hanan Al Suwaidi, Lead Investigator of the Study, MBRU.

“We are keen to further strengthen research in the field of tech-transfer as technology has the potential to radically improve healthcare processes, healthcare management, and most importantly patient outcomes," he added. He also said that through advancement in technology and innovation, there has been a huge improvement in the containment of Covid-19.

It is a very simple yet effective technology, at least that is what is being proved by the recent trials. A person needs to blow into the disposable mouthpiece connected to a breath sample, which is a highly advanced instrument. The exhaled breath is contained into the sampler and then fed into a cutting-edge mass spectrometer.

A machine learning software then analyses the volatile organic compound profile and then generates the results within a minute.

The CEO of Breathonix, Dr. Jia Zhunan also added to the confidence that it had built on people. The co-founder credited the team for completing an initial trial with the national center of infectious disease in Singapore.

"It works by detecting Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) present in a person’s exhaled breath. VOCs are consistently produced by various biochemical reactions in human cells. Different diseases cause specific changes to the compounds, resulting in detectable changes in a person’s breath profile," Dr. Jia added.

The UAE has been taking all the necessary steps to ensure that the covid-19 pandemic is contained in the best possible way. Prof Freddy Boey NUS deputy president also stressed this saying that since the pandemic arrived, mass testing has been implemented in the country and key public health strategies have also been brought to keep people safe in this environment. 

WAM