Three British teens invented a "smart" condom that may forever change the way people wrap it up, and revolutionize sex health, CBS News reported.
Daanyaal Ali,14, Muaz Nawaz, 13, and Chirag Shah, 14, from London's Isaac Newton Academy have proposed an idea for a color-coded condom called the S.T. EYE that can detect whether someone has a sexually transmitted disease by changing colors.
"We created the S.T.EYE as a new way for STI detection to help the future of the next generation," Ali said in a statement. "We wanted to make something that made detecting harmful [sexually transmitted infections] STIs safer than ever before, so that people can take immediate action in the privacy of their own homes without the often-scary procedures at the doctors."
Ali said he and his team made sure they were able to "give peace of mind to users and let people act even more responsibly than ever before."
The "new spin" on the contraceptive and prophylactic is to have the condom change color if it comes into contact with a STI. There would be antibodies on the condom "that would interact with the antigens of STDs, causing the condom to change colors depending on the disease," The Washington Post reported. The condom would turn green for chlamydia, "purple for genital warts, blue for syphilis and yellow for herpes," according to the New York Daily News.
The three students presented this concept to folks at the Teen Tech awards and went home with the top innovation prize in the health category. The teens also awarded about $1,500 and a trip to Buckingham Palace.
The boys have been approached by a condom manufacturer, impressed by their determination to tackle a sensitive issue.
According to Time, the color-changing condoms are not available yet, they are still in the "very, very early stages."
