New wearable device could detect COVID 19 in the air

A new wearable device could give you an early warning that you've been exposed to COVID 19.

According to Seattle's FOX 13, a clip-on device called The Fresh Air Clip was developed by researchers at the Yale School of Public Health.

According to a study by the Environmental Science and Technology Letters, the device captures viruses-laden aerosols.

An assistant professor of epidemiology at Yale, Krystal Godri Pollitt, said in a news release that a clip can detect low levels of virus that are well below the estimated SARS-CoV-2 infectious dose. The Fresh Air Clip helps identify exposure events early, alerting people to get tested or quarantined. The clip is intended to help prevent the spread of the disease, which can occur when people don't have this kind of early detection of exposure. The study found that the virus was detected on clips worn by five of the 62 participants 8% of the time, mostly in indoor restaurant settings, for five consecutive days.

Its smaller size could be a low-cost and easy way to detect the virus, according to researchers.

Other larger devices have been developed to detect virus particles in the air.

Godri Pollitt hopes to make the clips available to the public in the future.