A research team in China has developed new smart face masks that analyze air breathed by the wearer, which could help screen for disease biomarkers on a large scale.
According to the German News Agency, the researchers tested their new technique by clipping a solid-phase microextraction (SPME) fiber inside an N95 face mask. Volunteers performed many different activities, including eating a banana or garlic, smoking a cigarette or drinking a cup of coffee.
Then, the volunteers wore the smart masks and used it, the Science Daily website reported. Later, the researchers removed the fibers and analyzed them to detect the different compounds found.
The researchers hope that the method will inspire biomarker studies for respiratory illnesses that require people to wear masks everyday.
The project was funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China and the Foundation for New Faculty Start-up Program of Jinan University.
Exhaled breath contains a variety of volatile and non-volatile compounds dissolved in microdroplets. Some of these molecules could provide important health information, such as whether a person has a certain disease, or how their body metabolizes medications they're taking.
