British scientists have developed a ceiling-mounted “Covid alarm” that can detect whether someone in a room is infected with the coronavirus in as little as 15 minutes.
The highly accurate gadget, little larger than a smoke alarm, could revolutionise screening in aircraft cabins, classrooms, care homes and offices.
Early studies by scientists at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) and Durham University show that the device has an accuracy rate of between 98 and 100 per cent, making it as reliable as gold-standard PCR lab-based Covid-19 tests and far more so than quick lateral-flow tests.
The sensor, made by the Cambridgeshire firm Roboscientific, works by detecting chemicals produced by the skin or present in the breath of people infected with the coronavirus.
