Washington-Sana
Engineers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard University have designed a new face mask that can diagnose a wearer's infection with the emerging coronavirus within about 90 minutes.
“Small sensors have been integrated into the masks and can be disposed of or re-installed in other face masks, and can also be adapted to detect other viruses,” said James Collins, a professor of medical engineering and sciences at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and senior author of the study, as saying.
He explained that the sensors depend on freeze-dried cell machines that the research team had previously developed for use in diagnosing infections with viruses such as Ebola and Zika.
The researchers showed that the sensors could also be embedded in clothing such as lab coats, which could provide a new way to monitor health care workers' exposure to a variety of pathogens or other threats.
The face mask's sensors are designed so that they can be activated by the wearer when they are ready to take the test and results are only displayed inside the mask for user privacy.
