Your next face mask could light up upon detecting the coronavirus, say researchers

Your next face mask could light up upon detecting the coronavirus, say researchers
PHOTO: Romeo Ranoco/Reuters

Nasal swab tests are currently used for Covid-19 testing to determine if a person has contracted the coronavirus. For those who have gone through it or have witnessed how it's done, they detailed the process to be a painful, or at least extremely uncomfortable one

Singaporean mum Eeling J. Tan held her five-year-old daughter's hand as she was made to go through the swab test after having bronchitis, asthma and developing a fever earlier in March. 

Said Tan: "A nurse in full infectious disease gear took a thin cotton bud (Q-tip) about 12 cm long, and stuck it into both her nostrils. One at a time."

If you're wondering if there's a less invasive and more convenient way of testing, there's hope yet.

MIT researcher Jim Collins and a small group of scientists from MIT and Harvard first began developing sensors in 2014, which could detect the Ebola virus when it was freeze-dried onto a piece of paper.

Collins told Business Insider: "We initially did this on paper to create inexpensive paper-based diagnostics," but now it has proven to be effective on plastic, quartz, as well as cloth.

They had published their research in 2016, and they have since customised the sensors to pick up various viruses, including the Zika virus, Sars, measles, influenza and hepatitis C. Fast forward to today, and they are again tweaking the sensors to be able to pick up the coronavirus. 

Collins and his team are developing sensors that will light up when a person with the virus coughs, sneezes or even breathes into it. The fluorescent signals will then light up as an indication if the person is infected.

The sensors only require two things to be activated — moisture through respiratory particles like mucus or saliva, and it needs to detect a virus’ genetic material (genome sequence).

Collins also said the project is still in its "very early stages," and the team is also debating if the sensors should be embedded inside of the mask or as a separate device that can be attached to any mask available in the market now.

As of now, the team has been testing the sensors to pick up the coronavirus in a small saliva sample. The fluorescent signals are designed to light up within one to three hours. The current Covid-19 test kit in Singapore takes three hours as well to determine if a person is infected. 

However, the fluorescent signals aren't visible to the naked eye and a fluorimeter is now used to detect the fluorescent light. Collins suggests that public officials can use handheld fluorimeters, which would "cost about a dollar" to scan people's masks.

Collin's team also estimated in 2016 that each sensor costs US$20 (S$28.50), and US$1 to manufacture.

While the cost of the current Covid-19 test kit used in Singapore is unknown, The New Paper understands that each chipset used to test one person costs close to $200.

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If the sensors are successful, Covid-19 testing will be done more efficiently at less cost, and it will definitely be less invasive. 

The face mask with fluorescent signals could also be used at airports and hospitals to detect those who are infected more effectively.

Collins said: "You or I could use it on the way to and from work. Hospitals could use it for patients as they come in or wait in the waiting room as a pre-screen of who’s infected."

As to when it will be available in the market, Collins' goal is "to begin manufacturing masks for public distribution by the end of summer."

But now, the team is constrained by time and a relatively lean team, on top of being limited with the number of people allowed to work in the lab due to the social distancing measures set in place. 

ALSO READ: Surgical mask, paper towel mask or cloth mask? Japanese professor tests which is most effective against Covid-19

melissagoh@asiaone.com

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