Researchers have developed a hydroalcoholic gel with a QR code that enables people to access a test that assesses their ability to identify the smell of the product and eight symptoms of Covid, instantly evaluating the risk of having the deadly respiratory disease.
The team from Spain’s Universitat Rovira i Virgili, in conjunction with the Pere Virgili Health Research Institute, developed this method, which is based on artificial intelligence (AI) techniques.
The AI model instantly determines which people have a low, medium or high risk of having the disease at that moment with a sensitivity of 97 per cent.
The first prototype of this device has been installed at the entrance to the Sant Joan University Hospital in Reus and the research results were published in the journal Scientific Reports.
Citrus fruits and apples are two of the first aromas that people with the SARS-CoV-2 virus stop detecting. Also, a high temperature, a headache, a cough, discomfort and a sore throat are all signs of the coronavirus but also of a cold or flu. The AI system that has been patented is based on a hydroalcoholic gel to which a particular con- centration of a citrus essence has been added.
The data ensured almost total sensitivity (97 per cent), which makes it useful as a method for screening the population.
