Can a mask automatically detect coronavirus?
The answer to this interesting question is yes, and the credit for this invention goes to the heads of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Harvard University, whose experts have been researching it for some time.
The mask was originally designed to identify the Zika and Ebola viruses that experts have been working on for the past six years. It is now being modified to identify the corona virus. They want to develop a mask that can detect the presence of corona virus in the form of light when sneezing and coughing.
In 2014, MIT’s Bioengineering Laboratory began working on a sensor that could detect frozen Ebola virus on paper. The first success came in 2016, when work began on identifying the Zika virus. They are now using the same technology to identify the corona virus, after which the mask will automatically emit light.
This will make it easier for patients to be identified as corona patients as soon as they enter the hospital. The patient’s samples can then be further confirmed. This technology will help prevent the Corona epidemic and will especially benefit poor countries.
However, MIT and Harvard experts say the study is in its infancy, with preliminary results currently encouraging and they have been testing their first corona sensor for several weeks. Only then will their extensive trials on humans begin.
However, these technologies have been effective in identifying other epidemics, including SARS, measles, the common flu, hepatitis C, West Nile virus and other diseases. These sensors can be applied to paper and cloth to make cheap virus masks, but soon plastic will also be recognizable. Secondly, the sensors so far are very cheap and easy to use.
The brightening mask binds to the virus’s DNA or RNA, even if it is frozen. However, the genetic draft of the virus has been taken into account to identify the corona, and the mask lights up as the virus hits the sensor. Although this light cannot be seen with the naked eye, it can be noticed with a special instrument fluometer.
