‘Smoke alarm sensor’ can detect Covid

A CEILING-mounted sensor has been developed that can detect whether someone has Covid in a room in 15 minutes.

Slightly larger than a smoke alarm, it sniffs out the virus’s odour and could be used in aircraft cabins, schools, care homes and offices.

Early studies by scientists at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and Durham University suggest it 98-100 per cent accurate.

This would be the same as gold-standard PCR lab-based tests but is claimed to be better at detecting those not showing symptoms.

The £5,000 sensor, made by RoboScientific of Littleport, Cambs, identifies Covid’s “volatile organic compounds”.

Dogs can also do the job, but the alarm is more accurate and more practical.

It takes 15 to 30 minutes for the machines to sample the air in a big room, with the results sent to a mobile or computer.

The findings are at an early stage and not peer-reviewed.