Scientists Are Studying Face Masks That Can Detect COVID-19 With Tiny Sensors

By
Megan
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If there’s one good thing that COVID-19 has unleashed upon our world, it’s an age of rapid innovation and development. 

From vaccines to funky masks and zoom clubbing, we’ve truly displayed the spirit of adaptation and problem-solving during these unprecedented times. 

And the latest in a string of innovations—COVID-19 detecting masks—may make you feel like the main character of a science fiction movie.

I mean, just imagine donning a mask or jacket and getting a free COVID-19 test along with it. No uncomfortable Q-tips shoved up your nostrils to worry about. 

Here’s what you need to know about this new innovation. 

Scientists Are Studying Face Masks That Can Detect COVID-19 With Tiny Sensors

According to research published on Monday (28 Jun) in the journal Nature Biotechnology, tiny sensors woven into wearable fabrics like masks and jackets could detect pathogens such as the coronavirus. 

So far, the tests have been limited to laboratory use, but they can be incorporated into smart wearables “beyond what a FitBit or Applewatch can offer”, according to study co-author Peter Nguyen, a research scientist at the Wyss Institute at Harvard University. 

“The concept is similar to how our own skin works, where you automatically sense your environment with exquisite sensitivity without needing to actively participate in the details of the process itself,” he said.

The authors of the journal showed that sensors that employ CRISPR gene editing technology can reach the level of virus detection in laboratories and can be incorporated into wearable fabrics. 

Hence, Nguyen said that they could be of use to “anyone working in an environment where they might be exposed to pathogens or toxins”. 

Researchers have come up with a prototype COVID-19 testing face mask. The mask contains a patch of sensors attached to a pad that collects the breath particles of the user.

After at least 15 minutes of wearing the mask, the wearer pierces a pouch on the mask and water absorbs the sample into the sensor. 

The test result is then displayed by a strip on the mask. 

A jacket was also developed by the researchers for people who work in dangerous environments. 

The gene-editing tool CRISPR is utilised to make sensors that light up when it comes into contact with the target pathogen.

Information from the tiny sensors in the fabric is then carried by fibre optic threads to a small detector embedded within the garment. 

Even though the garments were created for “specialised situations” in the short term, Nguyen said that they could be used by regular people in the long term, particularly to facilitate the ease of at-home testing during local outbreaks.

Maybe there will be a future without someone shoving a cotton swab into my nose!

If you’d like to know how important masks are in the fight against COVID-19, watch this video to the end:

Feature Image: evrymmnt / Shutterstock.com

Watch this for a complete summary of what REALLY happened to Qoo10, and why it's like a K-drama:

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Megan
Email: [email protected]