Editor’s Note: This story first appeared in the Austin Business Journal. It appears here in an abbreviated format. See the original post here.
Astrotech Corp. is working to create a device that could quickly test for the COVID-19 virus at drive-thru locations.
The Austin-based research and development company announced Wednesday it is developing an instrument, called the BreathTest-1000, that would "screen for volatile organic compound metabolites found in a person’s breath" and identify if they are infected with COVID-19 or pneumonia.
The company announced it will launch a new subsidiary called BreathTech Corp. to shepherd the product.
Astrotech (Nasdaq: ASTC) has been working for years on mass-spectrometry tech — which measures the mass-to-charge ratio of ions — with federal agencies such as NASA and the Transportation Security Agency. Applications of its tech have been chemical analysis in agriculture and testing for explosives and chemical agents at airports — its devices have been used in air cargo facilities throughout the European Union since last year.
The breath-testing device will be "ideal for lung disease testing applications," Astrotech said. The instrument may be used at drive-up facilities, for example, and enable testing to be done in under one minute with minimal training. Astrotech said the BreathTest-1000 "is not expected to be as accurate as laboratory DNA testing but could be an excellent quick screening device for field applications."
The pivot by Astrotech exemplifies how many Austin companies are adapting their tech to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. Everlywell Inc. is offering thousands of coronavirus tests to health care providers and Wheel Health Inc. said it can now send clinicians to homes around Texas to test for the coronavirus.
Founded in 1984, Astrotech is a holding company for developing advanced technology. During the quarter that ended Dec. 31, the company reported revenue of $205,000 and a net loss of about $2 million, according to its most recent quarterly securities filing. It had nearly $3.7 million in assets, with nearly a third of that — about $1 million — in the form of operating leases and right-of-use assets.
