Abstract Rapid testing is essential to fighting pandemics such as coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), the disease caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Exhaled human breath contains multiple volatile molecules providing powerful potential for non-invasive diagnosis of diverse medical conditions. We investigated breath detection of SARS-CoV-2 infection using cavity-enhanced direct frequency comb spectroscopy (CE-DFCS), a state-of-the-art laser spectroscopic technique capable of a real-time massive collection of broadband molecular absorption features at ro-vibrational quantum state resolution and at parts-per-trillion volume detection sensitivity. Using a total of 170 individual breath samples (83 positive and 87 negative with SARS-CoV-2 based on reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction tests), we report excellent discrimination capability for SARS-CoV-2 infection with an area under the receiver-operating-characteristics curve of 0.849(4). Our results support the development of CE-DFCS as an alternative, rapid, non-invasive test for COVID-19 and highlight its remarkable potential for optical diagnoses of diverse biological conditions and disease states.
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This content will become publicly available on January 1, 2025
Revolutionising disease detection: The emergence of non-invasive VOC breathomics
Breathomics marks a revolutionary approach to disease detection by analyzing the chemical composition of exhaled breath. As the world recovers from the recent global health crises, the detection and management of pandemic diseases like COVID-19, RSV, and flu have come to the forefront. The COVID-19 pandemic alone has affected over 96 million people in the US, with a devastating count of more than a million fatalities. Similarly, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and influenza (flu) collectively burden the healthcare system with millions of cases annually, leading to hundreds of thousands of hospitalizations and tens of thousands of deaths. These staggering statistics underscore an urgent need for diagnostic methods that are not only swift and accurate but also non- invasive to facilitate rapid, widespread testing. Enter Breathomics—a revolutionary approach that analyzes the chemical composition of exhaled breath to detect diseases.
- Award ID(s):
- 2200299
- PAR ID:
- 10528317
- Publisher / Repository:
- Open Access Government
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Open Access Government
- Volume:
- 41
- Issue:
- 1
- ISSN:
- 2516-3817
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- 74 to 75
- Subject(s) / Keyword(s):
- non-invasive VOC detection
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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