French hospital tests new breathalyser machine to detect COVID-19

Lyon, France: A hospital in the southern French city of Lyon is testing patients with a new machine that enables them to breathe into a tube to see whether they have COVID-19 in a matter of seconds.

The machine is entering a second trial phase after three months of use on dozens of people, among which about 20 were patients with the virus, and others without. Unlike the uncomfortable standard PCR (polymerase chain reaction) tests, the machine is not invasive and provides an immediate result.

"It's the same principle as a classic breathalyser test," Christian George, director of research at the National Centre of Scientific Research at the la Croix-Rousse hospital, told. "The machine will register the molecules in the exhaled air and then detects the traces of the sickness," Christian George, director of research at the National Centre of Scientific Research at the la Croix-Rousse hospital told.

Jean-Christophe Richard , head of intensive care at the Hospital La Croix-Rousse, said the objective was to have the machine fully operational by the end of the year. Bruno Lina, an independent virus expert who has been consulted on the machine, said it was a step in the right direction, but at this stage was too expensive for widespread distribution at hospitals.