Israeli researchers at Haifa’s Technion have developed a mask that can be cleaned and re-used using the electrical current of a mobile phone charger.

The mask, developed by the Technion’s Faculty of Materials Science and Engineering, destroys pathogens – including Covid-19 – that accumulate on the mask's surface using an internal carbon fibre layer.

The carbon fibre can be heated up by plugging the mask into a standard two amp electrical current, such as those provided by mobile phone chargers.

The Technion is one of Israel's leading scientific research universities. 

A Technion spokesperson said that a patent had been filed in the United States, and that steps were being taken to make the mask available commercially.

Each self-cleaning mask is expected to cost one US dollar.

This is not the first innovative facemask developed during the coronavirus pandemic by Israeli researchers.

On Tuesday, Israeli firm Avtipus Patents and Inventions announced that it had created a ‘smart’ mask with an aperture that opens automatically when a fork is brought close to the face.

The mask can also be operated using a hand-held remote control.