The sensors out of Harvard and MIT could also make their way straight into lab coats and or uniforms to test other pathogens and toxins.
However, by now, most of us are habitual of putting on a mask to protect ourselves and others from COVID-19. According to health experts masks have been effective in stopping or slowing down the spread of the virus.
But guess what? Experts have been working on masks that could detect the virus in your breath so you may get rid of the uncomfortable and sometimes painful RT-PCR COVID nasal swab test. The researchers, from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University, created wearable biosensors that can be integrated into fabric, essentially letting wearables detect pathogens.
According to the study published this week in nature’s biotechnology, these sensors have now been attached to the standard KN-95 face masks to successfully detect the presence of COVID in a person’s breath. Such a mask is equipped with a patch of sensors that are attached to a pad that collects the users breath , this mask needs to be worn only for 15 minutes to get a result.
Technique and Validity
The scientists say that levels of accuracy of the test are comparable to standard PCR COVID tests, which detect the virus’ genetic material using a lab technique called polymerase chain reaction.
The sensor is made on the technique that involves extracting and freezing-dying the molecular structure machinery that cells use to read and write genetic material.
According to study,the biosensors could also be used to detect other bacteria, toxins and chemical agents. A digital signal could then be sent to a mobile app, allowing the wearer to track exposure to a wide variety of substances. We can currently test for viruses in samples of blood, urine, stool and saliva. These are all things that have to be tested in a lab, but these masks could theoretically make for portable testing at home.
We still don’t know when we will be able to get our hands on one of these masks but it is going to be real soon.
