Domestic Innovations to Detect COVID-19

ARSIP HUMAS UGM

GeNose, a tool for detecting Covid-19 through breaths developed by a team at Gadjah Mada University (UGM), Yogyakarta. This tool has obtained a distribution permit from the Ministry of Health.

JAKARTA, KOMPAS — Two domestic innovations to detect COVID-19, GeNose and CePAD, have received distribution permits from the Health Ministry. The two tools are not a diagnostic instruments but are for screening or quick detection of COVID-19.

GeNose is a COVID-19 detection tool through breath and support of an artificial intelligence (AI) system developed by researchers at Gadjah Mada University (UGM), Yogyakarta. Meanwhile, CePAD detects COVID-19 from an antigen test developed by researchers at Padjadjaran University, Bandung, West Java.

Also read: Regional Administrations Speed Up Preparations for Emergency COVID-19 Hospitals

Research and Technology Minister Bambang PS Brodjonegoro said in Jakarta on Monday (28/12/2020) that the innovations of the two tools could accelerate the detection process for COVID-19. To help mitigate the spread of COVID-19, GeNose\'s production capacity in February 2021 is targeted to be more than 5,000 units. Meanwhile, the production capacity of CePAD is 500,000 units per month.

"The GeNose and CePAD rapid tests help reduce transmission by surveillance. Because the tools are connected to a digital system, tracing can be done,” he said.

These two tools are for rapid detection of COVID-19 and do not replace diagnosis with swab tests using the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technique.

KOMPAS/HARIS FIRDAUS

Minister of Research and Technology / Head of the National Research and Innovation Agency Bambang PS Brodjonegoro gave information about a Covid-19 detection tool called GeNose in an online press conference, Thursday (24/9/2020).

Deputy Health Minister Dante Saksono Harbuwono added that the legal aspects of these two tools were for COVID-19 screening, so PCR tests were still needed to complete the test results with the two tools.

Also read: Critical Point of Health Care

"There must be complementary tests to answer these results. The more complementary tests, the better the artificial intelligence data," he said.

Helping screening

Indonesian Association of Lung Doctors chairman Agus Dwi Susanto emphasized that the exhalation method for detecting COVID-19 on the GeNose device was not a World Health Organization standard. However, this tool can help screen people who are positive for COVID-19.

GeNose\'s ability cannot be said to be better than other antigen-based or PCR-based tools. So, clinical trials are needed to compare the COVID-19 detection tools with different methods.

Also read: Covid-19 Pandemic: The Bright Alleyway Scenario

A member of the GeNose research team from UGM, Dian Kesumapramudya Nurputra, explained that GeNose works by detecting volatile organic compounds (VOC) particles or volatile organic compounds released specifically for people with COVID-19. People will be detected positive for COVID-19 because the VOC being issued is different from healthy people.

ARSIP HUMAS UGM

Governor of the Special Region of Yogyakarta (DIY) Sultan Hamengku Buwono X (right) exhales a Covid-19 detector called GeNose, Monday (12/10/2020), at the Yogyakarta Governor\'s office complex, Yogyakarta City.

GeNose has gone through validation tests and clinical trials. The validation test at Bhayangkara Hospital and the COVID-19 Special Hospital in Bantul mapped the exhalation patterns of COVID-19 patients and non-sufferers. The validation test received 615 breath samples and 382 of them had the patterns of being positive for COVID-19.

"From the results of clinical trials, the sensitivity is 89-92 percent and the specificity is 95-96 percent with a positive likelihood ratio of 20.32. So, using GeNose, 87 percent can be detected," she said.

Apart from the high sensitivity and accuracy, the tests using GeNose are faster, taking only five minutes. This tool also does not require reagents or other chemicals, they are low cost, have high reliability and the data is connected to a cloud computing system so that it can be accessed online.

Using GeNose, 87 percent can be detected.

"GeNose\'s ability increases with the addition of data," Dian said.

Meanwhile, the antigen-based CePAD tool from Unpad detects viral proteins with high viral loads at the beginning of infection before antibodies are formed. From the results of clinical trials, this COVID-19 detection tool has a sensitivity of 85 percent, a specificity of 83-84 percent and an accuracy of 84 percent.

Muhammad Yusuf from the CePAD research team said CePAD detected the virus when the sample interacted with a specific anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibody. The procedure for using CePAD is the same as for PCR tests and the results are obtained in approximately 15 minutes.

This article was translated by Hyginus Hardoyo