UGM Develops COVID-19 'Breath Detector' with 97 Percent Accuracy Claim

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Researchers from the Yogyakarta Gadjah Mada University (UGM) announced that it has developed a COVID-19 detector dubbed the “GeNose” that is claimed to be able to detect the virus through the subject’s breath.

The tool backed with artificial intelligence is said to be more efficient than the PCR swab tests and much more accurate than rapid test methods. It is supported by a centralized cloud computing to reach a real-time diagnosis. 

One of the UGM researchers involved in the GeNose project, Dian Kesumapramudya Nurputra, said it was created as a response to the increasing demand to do economic activities despite the pandemic.

“This is why we developed the GeNose that is quicker and more accurate,” said Nurputra in an online event that saw UGM handing over the technology to the research and development ministry. 

The GeNose works by detecting volatile organic compounds that contain the COVID-19 virus from a patient’s breath, and with the help of numerous sensors and artificial intelligence technology, will help decide whether a person’s breath contains the virus. 

The project was led by Kuwat Triyana from UGM’s Faculty of Math and Science (FMIPA), Ahmad Kusumaatmaja (FMIPA), Ahmad Kusumaatmaja (FMIPA), and Mohamad Saifudin Hakim (FKKMK). 

The research’s leader Kuwat said the detector was already tested on 600 valid samples obtained from Yogyakarta’s Bhayangkara Hospital and Bambanglipuro Hospital and claimed that it has 97 percent accuracy level. 

MOH KHORY ALFARIZI