15 March 2021
NTUitive nanotechnology startup Silver Factory Technology's TracieX breathalyser used for COVID-19 test trials at Changi Airport

(Cover image: screengrab from video linked below) 

 

No swabs, not invasive, cheaper. There are two very important trials taking place at Changi Airport. Last October, I took a look at National University of Singapore Breathonix’s breathalyser system, which delivers a COVID-19 test result in under a minute. This week, I tried another breathalyser system, TracieX, by Nanyang Technological University, Singapore start-up Silver Factory Technology. TracieX detects Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) in a person’s exhaled breath to deliver test results within 2 minutes. It is different from Breathonix as you blow into a cartridge and the test is highly portable. These trials are taking place at Changi Airport now, alongside our on-arrival swab tests. Initial results show promising accuracy. Once the teams have collected enough samples, and generate the necessary data, they can apply for approval for actual deployment, hopefully in the coming months. This is another important project to try to reopen travel safely.

Posted by Ong Ye Kung on Saturday, March 13, 2021

 

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