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Teens Invent Condom That Changes Color When STDs Are Detected

By Lindsay McCane
Published on: 09:45 PST, Jun 24, 2015

Teens inventing condoms? Sounds a little crazy right? Well, that is exactly what one group of concerned teens have done.

Three teenage boys from England’s Isaac Newton Academy came up with the clever concept for a “smart condom” if you will. So, what exactly is so special about this unique condom?

Well, imagine this: You are in the heat of the moment, and responsibly put on a condom. A few seconds later, it starts illuminating a different color, indicating that you have just been exposed to an sexually transmitted disease (STD).

According to the Washington Post, the condom would consist of antibodies that would “interact with the antigens of STDs, causing the condom to change colors depending on the disease.” For instance, if someone was exposed to chlamydia, it would glow green or yellow for herpes, purple for human papillomavirus (HPV) and blue for syphilis.

Daanyaal Ali, 14, Muaz Nawaz, 13, and Chirag Shah, 14, won the best health innovation award at the U.K.’s TeenTech awards in London on Tuesday, June 23 for their condom called the S.T. EYE. The competition is known for helping students “understand their true potential and the real opportunities available in the contemporary STEM workplace.” The teens who invented the clever condom won $1,500 and a trip to meet Prince Andrew at Buckingham Palace later this year.

“We wanted to make something that makes detecting harmful STIs safer than ever before, so that people can take immediate action in the privacy of their own homes without the invasive procedures at the doctors,” Daanyaal told news.com.au, according to Fox News. “We’ve made sure we’re able to give peace of mind to users and make sure people can be even more responsible than ever before.”

“We knew that STIs were a huge problem in the U.K.,” Daanyaal explained. “We saw a gap in the market and we wanted to help people feel safer.”

While the idea is generating talk, TeenTech chief executive Maggie Philbin says it is only a concept for now.

“I think the reason the judges put this idea first was because the project showed how much learning these boys had done while researching STDs,” she said.

Several concerns about the condom have been voiced. Many have questions as to how the condom would work if someone was colorblind or had multiple STDs.

“We know most of these ideas remain ideas,” Philbin said. “But some of them do make it.”

What do you think about the teen’s condom invention? Leave your comments below.

[Photo via Shutterstock]

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