Astrotech, a research and development company out of Austin, announced Wednesday it is working on a device that could be used to quickly test for the novel coronavirus.
The company says the instrument, called BreathTest-1000, would “screen for volatile organic compounds and metabolites found in a person’s breath” and determine if they are infected with COVID-19 or the resulting disease, pneumonia. In other words, the device will be able to test if an individual has the virus using nothing more than the air in their lungs.
Right now, the most reliable testing is done in a hospital and takes several days to process because the samples have to be sent to off-site laboratories. This method is inefficient at best and exacerbates the spread of the virus at worst. With the BreathTest-1000, testing could be performed right then and there and the results would be “near-instant,” according to a news release. Astrotech says the device will not be as accurate as lab tests, but has the potential to be a quick solution out in the field or in drive-thru clinics.
“With the coronavirus pandemic impacting millions of families around the globe, we are now very focused on the development of a rugged, inexpensive, quick and easy-to-use testing platform that can be deployed to thousands of point-of-care locations worldwide, if approved,” Chairman and CEO Thomas B. Pickens III said in a statement. “This is an incredibly scalable solution that is very much needed to screen as many people as possible in the shortest time.”
Astrotech is among several Austin startups at the forefront of COVID-19 testing. Everlywell is distributing thousands of its tests to healthcare workers, Luminex is deploying its Aries System to test multiple samples at once, and Wheel has teamed up with imawear to make Food and Drug Administration-approved at-home tests that will be administered by trained clinicians.
Founded in 1984, Astrotech invents, acquires and commercializes technological innovations sourced from research institutions, labs and internally. Among its other products is a “mass spectrometry” device that monitors air quality to detect things like chemical warfare agents, explosives and narcotics. It has been used by the likes of NASA, TSA and the European Union. The BreathTest-1000 test is an adaptation of this technology.
Astrotech (Nasdaq: ASTC) also announced Wednesday that it stands to raise almost $2 million by selling 354,000 shares of its common stock to “several institutional investors.” The offering is expected to close Friday and the company says the net proceeds will be used for “continuing operating expenses and working capital.”
