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Yin Fang and his colleagues developed a special sensor that responds to the presence of certain viral proteins in the air and attached it to a face mask.

Face masks — the unofficial symbol of the COVID-19 pandemic — are on the rise. A mask equipped with special electronics can detect SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, and other airborne viruses within 10 minutes of exposure, materials researcher Yin Fang and colleagues report September 19 in Matter.

“The lightness and convenience of wearing this face mask allows users to wear it anytime, anywhere,” says Fang of Tongji University in Shanghai.

“This is expected to serve as an early warning system to prevent large outbreaks of respiratory infectious diseases.”

Airborne viruses can travel between hosts in droplets of air that people breathe in and out. People infected with respiratory diseases can expel thousands of droplets containing the virus by talking, coughing and sneezing. Even those without symptoms can sometimes transmit these viruses; people infected with SARS-CoV-2 can start infecting others at least two to three days before the onset of symptoms (SN: 3/13/20). So viruses often have a head start when it comes to infecting new people.

Fang and his colleagues developed a special sensor that responds to the presence of certain viral proteins in the air and attached it to a face mask. The team then sprayed droplets containing proteins produced by the viruses that cause COVID-19, bird flu, or swine flu into the masked chamber.

The sensor can only detect a fraction of a microliter of these proteins – a cough can contain 10-80 times more. Once the pathogen was detected, the sensor-mask combination sent a signal to the researchers, informing them of the presence of the virus. Eventually, the researchers plan to send such signals to the user’s phone or other devices. By combining this technology with more routine testing, the team says, health care providers and public health officials will be able to better contain future pandemics.

KHN (Kaiser Health News) is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues. Along with policy analysis and polling, KHN is one of the three main operating programs of the KFF (Kaiser Family Foundation). KFF is a non-profit organization that provides health information to the nation.

This story was originally published by Science Newsa non-profit independent news organization.

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https://www.citybeat.com/news/scientists-are-developing-a-face-mask-that-can-sense-airborne-viruses-13926698