Quantifying Exhaled Respiratory Virus in Hospitalised Patients
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Quantifying exhaled respiratory virus in acutely infected hospitalised patients
IRAS ID
363784
Contact name
Nick Wilson
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Edinburgh
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 6 months, 30 days
Research summary
We have developed a new sampling research tool to measure the amount of virus a person breathes out when they have a viral chest infection which we aim to test. Although some devices have been made in the past, ours is designed to answer detailed questions about the size of the particles people breath out. We think this is an important piece of the puzzle in our understanding of viral illness.
We are going to recruit people with viral infections and ask them to sit inside our sampler – it is cone shaped and can be done with the participant lying in a hospital bed. It collects the exhaled breath and separates it into particle sizes, following which we perform tests in the laboratory to see what each particle contains. We will ask participants to talk and possible breathe and cough into the cone for a short period of time. This will help us understand how the sampler works best and how different types of respiratory activities affect what is found in the different particle sizes.The amount of virus someone breathes out is relevant in understanding what is happening to them during an infection, but also relevant in understanding how viral infections are passed from one person to another. The recent COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated how important this information is, particularly when we think about trying to reduce transmission of viral infections from one person to another.
As a feasibility study, the results will mostly tell us about how we can best design research studies in the future using this sampling tool to get the best results to answer important questions. However, we will also be able to begin to answer questions about how viral content of exhaled breath is affected by particle size and respiratory activity.
REC name
North of Scotland Research Ethics Committee 1
REC reference
25/NS/0141
Date of REC Opinion
19 Dec 2025
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion