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UGM receives orders for GeNose COVID-19 detector

News Desk (The Jakarta Post)
Jakarta
Tue, December 29, 2020

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UGM receives orders for GeNose COVID-19 detector GeNose, a COVID-19 detecting machine developed by Gadjah Mada University’s (UGM) research team, is seen in this photo provided by UGM’s public relations department. The machine received approval for distribution from the Health Ministry on Dec. 24. (Kompas.com/Yustinus Wijaya Kusuma)

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rders have started rolling in after the Indonesian government approved the distribution of a COVID-19 detector developed at a local university, the GeNose.

“We have received many orders after we obtained the distribution permit. A large company in Singapore is among our buyers,” Dian K. Nurputra, one of the developers from Gadjah Mada University (UGM), stated on Monday according to tempo.co.

Other government institutions, such as the Executive Office of the President (KSP) and the Research and Technology Ministry’s National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN), are also reportedly among the first to place orders for the COVID-19 detecting tool.

Presidential Chief of Staff Moeldoko said he believed the GeNose could be used in several places, such as factories, schools, office buildings as well as other places that required health screening.

He also asked the developers to introduce GeNose to the public as soon as possible so that the device could provide support at places that require it.

GeNose, which was developed by a team from UGM, has been approved for distribution by the Health Ministry on Thursday after months of development. The name stands for Gadjah Mada Electronic Nose.

The research and first batch of production were funded by the State Intelligence Agency (BIN) and BRIN.

The device detects possible COVID-19 infection through human breath and produces results within a few minutes with the help of artificial intelligence. An initial 100 units of the machine are scheduled to be distributed to hospitals, airports and train stations.

Read also: Locally made COVID-19 detector approved for distribution

“Currently we are still prioritizing domestic orders, since production is limited. We already have 100 GeNose units, but all of them have been sold already,” Dian stated, adding that the developers were aiming to produce 2,000 to 2,500 units by the end of January next year. 

Dian went on to say that each GeNose would be priced at Rp 62 million (US$4,387), which included a training session on how to utilize it.

GeNose development team leader Kuwat Triyana claimed the device was forecast to replace rapid test kits due to its accuracy.

“This device has a 93 to 95 percent accuracy level,” he stated.

The team also also expects that each device will accommodate 120 tests a day, or 12,000 individuals in total.

“The number is based on our estimation that each test requires 3 minutes, including taking the breath sample, which means 20 people could get tested in an hour if the device worked properly for six hours,” Kuwat said.

Furthermore, Kuwat stated that GeNose would soon be mass produced. He projected that Indonesia would show the largest number of COVID-19 tests each day at 1.2 million if the country had 10,000 devices in February, as targeted.

Prior to receiving approval from the ministry, GeNose underwent testing with more than 600 samples from the Yogyakarta Police’s Bhayangkara Hospital and a COVID-19 emergency hospital in Bambanglipuro, Yogyakarta, kompas.com reported on Saturday. 

The test found that the device was 97 percent accurate. (dpk)

 

Editor’s note: This article is part of a public campaign by the COVID-19 task force to raise people’s awareness about the pandemic.

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