A team of researchers at the California Institute of Technology have released a prototype for a new type of advanced, smart mask that could be used to detect a range of health conditions, including asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The team’s work is described in a recent article published in Science.
The rise of various smart devices has changed the delivery and management of healthcare. Now, just by wearing a watch, for example, people can gain a range of insight about important health makers; and in so doing, relay that information to their healthcare providers to improve the quality and delivery of care. And now researchers are adding to a grow type of wearable device for detecting health conditions: face masks.
However, researchers highlight that their design differs from existing smart masks available or in development. While many existing masks measure certain physical changes, such as changes to temperature or breath rate, this new mask, called EBCare, can measure changes to certain chemicals in a person’s breath. This includes, for example, the ability to detect chemicals like nitrite, which indicates inflammation associated with conditions like asthma.
The mask also has a “self-cooling” feature, which is a necessary first step to being able to adequately analyze the chemicals found in a person’s breath. Normally, “breath” samples would need to be chilled externally for testing. The self-cooling feature of the mask, which leverages hydrogel evaporative and radiative cooling, allows it to analyze samples in real time. The results of the test can then quickly and easily be sent to a person’s smartphone or other device, allowing users to get results quickly.
In preliminary testing of the masks in humans, researchers followed people with either asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and tested for signs of nitrite, a chemical present in people with these conditions. Researchers found the could accurately detect the presence of nitrite, which would allow them to detect asthma or COPD.
Sources: Science Daily; Science