COVID-19 has turned the world upside down. While vaccination drives in several countries have gained momentum, the threat of a third wave in some countries, including India, looms large. Amid this, researchers at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Harvard University’s Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering have developed a technology that attempts to make the fight against the pandemic a little stronger. A wearable biosensor technology has been developed by the team through which face masks are able to detect COVID-19 in the breath of the wearer.
Researchers at MIT and Harvard University have designed a new face mask that can diagnose if the wearer is infected with SARS-CoV-2, the virus which causes COVID-19, within 90 minutes.
The study, “Wearable materials with embedded synthetic biology sensors for biomolecule detection,” has been published in the Nature Biotechnology journal. These wearable biosensors have been installed in standard KN95 face masks to identify if the virus was present in a person’s breath. And it’s quick too. Researchers said that you can activate sensors with a button and the readout strip reflects results within 90 minutes. Not just that, the accuracy level is just the same as the standard PCR COVID tests, they added.
Peter Nguyen, a research scientist at the Wyss Institute and co-author of the study, said that the team essentially brought an entire diagnostic laboratory into a small, synthetic biology-based sensor that works with any face mask, adding, that it had the high accuracy of PCR tests with the speed and low cost of antigen tests. “In addition to face masks, our programmable biosensors can be integrated into other garments to provide on-the-go detection of dangerous substances, including viruses, bacteria, toxins, and chemical agents,” Nguyen said in a statement.
Nina Donghia, a staff scientist at the Wyss Institute and a co-author on the study, said that this advanced technology can also be used to equip lab coats of scientists working with hazardous materials or pathogens and even the uniforms of first responders and military personnel “who could be exposed to dangerous pathogens or toxins, such as nerve gas.”
Wearable Biosensor Mask Details
According to the researchers, the biosensors were attached to standard KN95 face masks to help in detection of the virus, which the team said happened quickly. The sensors can be activated by the users with a button and results are reflected with a readout strip in a span of 90 minutes. The accuracy levels of the biosensor are being touted to be the same as the RT-PCR tests being conducted for COVID-19.
The face mask sensors are designed so that they can be activated by the wearer when they are ready to perform the test, and the results are only displayed on the inside of the mask, for the privacy of the user. As the researchers were finishing up their work on the wearable sensors early in 2020, COVID-19 began spreading around the globe, so they quickly decided to try using their technology to create a diagnostic for the SARS-CoV-2 virus.
To produce their diagnostic face mask, the researchers embedded freeze-dried sensors into a paper mask. These freeze-dried components are surrounded by silicone elastomer, the researchers said. The sensors are placed on the inside of the mask, so they can detect viral particles in the breath of the person wearing the mask.
Wearable Biosensor Mask advantages
The biosensor can also be programmed and integrated into other garments so that on-the-go detection of dangerous pathogens, including bacteria, viruses, toxins and chemical agents, can take place. With this, many scientists, healthcare staff, first responders and military personnel, who could be exposed to dangerous pathogens, might be saved due to timely detection.
These freeze-dried components are surrounded by silicone elastomer, the researchers said. The sensors are placed on the inside of the mask, so they can detect viral particles in the breath of the person wearing the mask.
The prototypes have sensors on the inside of the mask to detect a user’s status, as well as sensors placed on the outside of garments, to detect exposure from the environment. The researchers can also swap in sensors for other pathogens, including influenza, Ebola, and Zika, or sensors they have developed to detect organophosphate nerve agents.
The researchers have filed for a patent on the technology and they are now hoping to work with a company to further develop the sensors.
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