SCIENTISTS are harnessing smartphones again to identify coronavirus particles on surfaces as an additional line of defense against the pandemic, alongside more robust treatments such as vaccines and antiviral drugs.

Researchers at General Electric (GE) have been awarded a National Institutes of Health grant to develop tiny sensors that can be embedded in mobiles to detect the presence of COVID-19 nano-particles.

The team behind the miniature tech claims that it boasts the same detection capabilities as far larger analytical instruments that you would typically find in a lab. Following a decade of experiments, they claim they can fine-tune the tiny widget to isolate virus particles without interference from other elements.

“Our sensors are sort of like bloodhounds,” said Radislav Potyrailo, a principal scientist at GE Research. “We train them to detect a specific thing, and they are able to do that well without being thrown off the trail by something else.”

With the help of the grant, the team will spend the next two years refining their fingertip-sized sensor in the hope of placing it inside devices — ranging from phones to smartwatches to wall-mounted gadgets. The hope is that one day we will all be able to whip out our phones to scan for COVID-19 or flu particles at airports, stores, ATM machines and at home.(SD-Agencies)