For the past several months, scientists have been trying to develop a breathalyzer test that can detect COVID faster and more efficiently than PCRs, which have been the gold standard for detecting the ‘Rona. But after a long wait, the FDA has finally granted emergency authorization for the InspectIR breathalyzer, meaning that all that brain-poking and nostril-violating might become obsolete in our near future.
This is how the InspectIR Breathalyzer works: Essentially, it separates and identifies five types of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) that are associated with COVID. If it detects the presence of any of these compounds, you’ve likely contracted the virus. The machine that analyzes the compounds is about the size of a carry-on suitcase, which means it can be transported and samples don’t need to be sent to a lab, per CNN.
