A teenage entrepreneur is helping in the fight against coronavirus by developing a wristband which alerts users when they are about to touch their face.

Max Melia, 15, first came up with the idea two years ago when his family kept falling ill with cold and flu viruses. But he really began to throw his efforts into it earlier this year when both parents were struck down with Covid-19.

With face-touching being one of the key modes of transmission, Max believes the device has the potential both to keep people safe and become part of their ‘new normal’.

He has launched a £60,000 crowdfunding campaign on Kickstarter to turn the prototype into reality and pledged that any profits made from early sales will be reinvested into providing free wristbands to frontline organisations such as the NHS staff and nursing homes.

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Worn on both wrists, the VybPro, patent pending, works by recognising gestures that are associated with hand movements towards the face.

The device, which is expected to retail for £89.99, combines position sending technology algorithms to distinguish between predicted face touching and other hand motions.

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A vibration on the device then alerts the user when their hand is about to touch their face – bringing it into their conscious awareness.

Max, from Bristol, said: ‘Watching this pandemic unfold on the news it was clear the devastating effect it was having on people lives’ across the world.

‘However it wasn’t until I saw the severity of the virus first-hand, when my parents both contracted Covid-19, did I truly appreciate just what we were dealing with.

‘We came up with the concept a few years ago when my family were repeatedly catching cold and flu viruses from travelling in and out of London and I could see how easy it was to pick up germs – especially from using public transport.

‘It was only when the World Health Organisation began urging people to avoid touching their eyes, nose and face to stop the spread of the virus from contaminated surfaces, did I realise that it could make a real difference in slowing the transmission of Coronavirus.

‘With the assistance and technical expertise of the product design team I’ve now developed and tested a working prototype which uses intelligent algorithms which I think has the potential to become part of people’s “new normal”.’

He added: ‘The main priority of this project is not to make money but to get it onto the wrists of those it can help keep safe.

‘Any profits made from early sales via the crowdfunding site will be reinvested into providing free devices to organisations that help people such as NHS staff and nursing homes.

‘I believe that this device can make a real difference in the fight against coronavirus and I’m determined to do all that I can to bring it to market.

‘I really hope that the general public can see the potential and are inspired to get behind the campaign to fund the next stage of the development.’

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