New Smart Face Mask: Lab-on-Mask

Face masks have become a part of many people's everyday wardrobe due to the coronavirus pandemic. Researchers, designers, and everyday people have shown their imagination and creativity by turning face masks into art projects and expressions of identity. While the work on the COVID-19 vaccine is still in progress, people have advised to maintain social distance, personal hygiene in public places, in addition, to mandatorily wear face masks all-the-time outside of the home.

Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is an infectious disease caused by a newly discovered coronavirus. Most of our peoples are infected due to COVID-19, they will experience mild to moderate respiratory illness and recover without requiring special treatment. The coronavirus spreads primarily through droplets of saliva or discharge from the nose when an infected person coughs or sneezes, speaks, and sings [1]. Older people and those with underlying medical problems like cardiovascular disease, diabetes, chronic respiratory disease, and cancer are more likely to develop serious illness. The best way to prevent and slow down transmission is to be well informed about the COVID-19 virus, the disease it causes, and how it spreads. Protect yourself and others from infection by washing your hands with sanitizers or using an alcohol-based rub frequently and wearing a mask in your face.

Figure 1. The face mask can potentially protect us from COVID-19 in a public place. Image created by Samuel Rodriguez [2].

Face masks are physical barriers to the dispersal of such respiratory droplets, which are potentially infectious as some contain viable viruses [3]. Since more than 50 countries have made masks mandatory in public spaces in the current COVID-19 pandemic (Figure 1).Prof. X. Chen introduced a smart mask, monolithically integrated with a remote, non-contact multiplexed sensor system, or “Lab-on-Mask” (LOM), streamlining the concept of the “body to the device to cloud” platform [4]. We are pleased to share that Professor Chen Xiaodong has been featured in a radio interview exploring the latest trends and technology around the world by Tamil newspaper and Capital Radio 95.8 FM. The radio recording is available here.

Lab-on-Mask has been featured in various several physical parameters associated with pneumonia including pick up skin temperature, blood oxygen saturation, blood pressure (BP), and heart rate(HR), -all of which are vital signs heavily monitored in isolation wards. Also, it measures the interior temperature (T) of the LOM. Since commercially printed circuit boards (PCB) and the human skin are not completely conformable, polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), is the complete substrate for flexible electronics which has been used to embed the entire monitoring system.According to the unidirectional stress tensile test, the Young’s Modulus of PDMS (1.086 ± 0.043 MPa) is 3~4 orders of magnitude lower than that of the PCB and 2 orders of magnitude lower than that of the innermost non-woven fabric of the mask, indicating better compatibility with human facial skin (~200 kPa)(Figure 2).

Figure 2. Schematic of the LOM. (a) Different sensors are embedded in the PDMS. (b) Comparison of Young’s modulus based on PCB, skin, and PDMS. (c) Scheme of the different parts of the LOM on skin. Embedded in PDMS, Young's modulus of the system is more similar to that of our skin. (d) Strain-stress the curve of, and Young’s modulus of, PDMS and the non-woven fabric of mask [4].

The non-contact LOM integrates with three components such as signal receiving sensors, data processing modules, and Bluetooth data output. Different sensors first collect signals from the face surface, and consequently convert and send electrical signals to data processing modules. For example, a photoplethysmography (PPG) sensor containing an infrared light-emitting diode (LED), a photodetector, and a preamplifier are used for calculating Peripheral Oxygen Saturation SpO₂, which receives light signals reflected from the blood vessels under the epidermis and converts them into electrical signals to identify vasoconstriction and vasodilation.

To confirm the LOM accuracy, they compared with the recorded vital signs with commercial devices on the same individual simultaneously. The HR, SpO₂, T and BP of a person are observed under resting state. It is evident the HR of this person ranges from 62 to 72 when wearing the LOM, which are typical values for a healthy person. Body temperature is a core parameter in the suspected or confirmed infection. The LOM records the internal temperature of the mask, reflecting one’s cheek surface temperature. It provides a frame of reference for one’s body temperature and fevers. While there is a compensation value of 2.9 °C between the LOM and infrared temperature (IR-T). Finally, they are compared with BP based on the LOM and a commercial monitor is lower than that of Omron because the device is more stable.

Our SNB Team recommended this research article to help the reader to know about that in the future, they are planning to optimize the LOM and collaborate with hospitals for remote, non-contact, and real-time monitoring of patients infected with SARS-CoV-2. Also, the LOM may provide directly monitoring and deactivating viruses when integrating anti-viral chemical sensors and surface coating. Meanwhile, the “body to a device to cloud” concept aligns with the move towards digital healthcare. At this time, there are no specific vaccines or treatments for COVID-19. However, many ongoing clinical trials were evaluating potential treatments. WHO will continue to provide updated information as soon as clinical findings become available?

References

H. A. Rothan, et al., J. Autoimmun, 109, 102433(2020).
https://unsplash.com/photos/3biD4LTasgY
N. H. Leung, et al., Nat. Med,26, 676 (2020).
P. Liang, et al. ACS Materials Lett. 2, 9, 1178 (2020).

Blog Written By

Dr. S. Chandrasekar

Institute for Advanced Study

Shenzhen University, China

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Dr. A. S. Ganeshraja

Dr. K. Rajkumar

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Dr. S. Thirumurugan

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