Engineers have designed a novel face mask that can diagnose the wearer with COVID-19 within about 90 minutes.

The masks are embedded with tiny, disposable sensors that can be fitted into other face masks and could also be adapted to detect other viruses.

The engineers from Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) based the sensors on ones that had previously been used to detect Ebola and Zika.

In a new study, the researchers showed that the sensors could be incorporated into not only face masks but also clothing such as lab coats, potentially offering a new way to monitor health care workers' exposure to a variety of pathogens or other threats.

"We've demonstrated that we can freeze-dry a broad range of synthetic biology sensors to detect viral or bacterial nucleic acids, as well as toxic chemicals, including nerve toxins," said lead author James Collins.

The face mask sensors are designed so that they can be activated by the wearer when they're ready to perform the test, and the results are only displayed on the inside of the mask, for user privacy.

What do you think of this development? Can you imagine this technology becoming widespread in future? Would you wear one?