An easy-to-use breath test that can accurately detect COVID-19 within a minute has received provisional authorisation from Singapore’s Health Sciences Authority (HSA).

Developed by Breathonix Pte Ltd, a spin-off company from the National University of Singapore (NUS), the BreFence™ Go COVID-19 Breath Test System is the first breath analysis system to secure provisional authorisation in Singapore.

Breathonix is now working with the Singapore Ministry of Health (MOH) to run a deployment trial of their technology at Tuas Checkpoint where incoming travellers will undergo screening with the BreFence™ Go COVID-19 Breath Test System.

This breath analysis will be carried out alongside the current compulsory COVID-19 antigen rapid test.

Breathonix is founded by three NUS graduates, Dr Jia Zhunan, Mr Du Fang and Mr Wayne Wee Shi Jie, along with Dr Jia’s PhD advisor, Professor T. Venky Venkatesan.

It is supported by the NUS Graduate Research Innovation Programme (GRIP), a scheme that encourages talented NUS graduate students and research staff to establish and run high potential start-ups based on deep technologies.

The BreFence™ Go COVID-19 Breath Test System works by detecting Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) present in a person’s exhaled breath. VOCs are produced by various biochemical reactions in human cells. As the VOC signature from a healthy person’s breath vary from that of a person with an illness, changes in VOCs can be measured as markers for diseases like COVID-19.

There is strong commercial interest in the BreFence™ Go COVID-19 Breath Test System, and Breathonix is in discussion with several local and overseas organisations to use the system.

Image caption- Dr Jia Zhunan (left) and Du Fang (middle) with NUS Deputy President (Innovation & Enterprise) Professor Freddy Boey (right).