RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Researchers at Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) are developing a protective mask that will be capable of detecting if the person is infected with the novel coronavirus.
Whenever an infected individual coughs, sneezes or breathes, a fluorescent light will come on. Scientists believe that this can help address the problem of shortage of tests, which is a common occurrence in many countries, as doctors can place the mask on patients and quickly determine whether or not patients are infected with Covid-19, without having to take the tests to a laboratory.
The technology will be adapted from a test developed by MIT in 2014, when scientists began to design sensors that could detect the Ebola virus, once frozen on paper. In 2018, the university laboratory was already able to detect SARS, measles, influenza, hepatitis C, among others, with the aid of sensors.
“The mask can be worn at airports when passing security, or while waiting to get on a plane. We can wear it to go to work. Hospitals can use it for people in waiting rooms, or to assess who is infected,” Jim Collins of MIT told the American Business Insider website.
According to Collins, the project is still “in its infancy,” but has shown promising results, and in recent weeks he and his team of researchers have been testing the item to be able to detect the coronavirus in small saliva samples. They expect to prove that the theory also works in practice in the “coming weeks”.
Detection sensors need two elements to be activated: the first is humidity, acquired through saliva, for instance; the second is to detect the genetic sequence of the virus. The moisture is then frozen in the mask tissue and can remain stable at room temperature for months.
In January, a laboratory in Shanghai was able to sequence the coronavirus genome. The mask will be built on this and once used, it can detect Covid-19 within 1 to 3 hours after usage. Currently, the results of common tests come out in 24 hours – or longer.
Masks can also be an alternative to thermometers, which do not detect asymptomatic patients.
For the masks to meet the demands of users during the Covid-19 pandemic, they would need to be low-cost as well as mass-produced and rapidly distributed. However, these business approaches are still distant, as the masks are still in their testing stage.
Source: Exame