New face mask prototype can detect Covid-19 infection

Engineers at MIT and Harvard University have designed a novel face mask that can diagnose the wearer with Covid-19 within about 90 minutes. The masks are embedded with tiny, disposable sensors that can be fitted into other face masks and could also be adapted to detect other viruses.

The sensors are based on freeze-dried cellular machinery that the research team has previously developed for use in paper diagnostics for viruses such as Ebola and Zika. In a new study, the researchers showed that the sensors could be incorporated into not only face masks but also clothing such as lab coats, potentially offering a new way to monitor health care workers’ exposure to a variety of pathogens or other threats.

Credit: Felice Frankel and MIT News Office

Research paper: Wearable materials with embedded synthetic biology sensors for biomolecule detection https://www.nature.com/articles/s41587-021-00950-3

News Source: https://news.mit.edu/2021/face-mask-covid-19-detection-0628

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