Pandemic inspires new devices to detect COVID-19 in breath, blood flow New devices to help detect COVID-19 Teams of researchers are working to develop innovative ways to detect and stop the spread of the coronavirus. ATLANTA - If you have to go through the sometimes uncomfortable deep nasal swab test to screen for COVID-19, you have probably thought there has to be an easier way to determine if you have the virus. Dr. Raed Dweik, Chairman of Respiratory Institute at the Cleveland Clinic, and his team are working on one, that measures compounds in your breath. "You know you have a fingerprint," Dr. Dweik explains. "We also believe people have a 'breath print' that can tell a lot about what's going on in their lungs and elsewhere in their bodies."