Canyon Laker invents fever-detecting wristband

COVID-19 has impacted many businesses, including Canyon Lake’s Juan Vera’s Shurfit Corp. Juan’s color-changing mouthguard for MMA fighters detects dehydration and heat stroke. After six years of success, the pandemic hit and sales slowed.

“I knew I had to come up with a product that would meet everyone’s needs during the pandemic,” Juan said. “So I came up with a wristband that performs the same type of task. This time, it’s wearable and gets used 24/7 with no interruption and provides a live reading at all times.” In addition to the Essential Wristband that changes color when high temperatures are present, Juan invented a facemask that does the same thing.

Juan Vera and employees show the Essential Wristband, a product that detects changes in body temperature and turns a bright orange when fever is present. Juan’s Canyon Lake business uses the wristbands to assist in detecting COVID-19 symptoms.

“We now have a wristband and facemask that detect fever-like symptoms with advance warning,” he said. “All staff members at events can see by a visual color display that there is indication of a potential pathogen or fever symptom with links to possible COVID-19 infection.”

The products change colors from a dark charcoal color to a fluorescent orange at 100.4 degrees, which is the temperature noted in CDC guidelines, he said.

“We are now working with the CDC under a government grant,” Juan said. “We use a combination of advanced technology that enables students to go back to school, hotel and casino employees to get back to work and athletes back to sports.”

There have been many examples this far of spread taking place at events or essential workplaces, he said.

“The process of checking temperature at work is crucial,” Juan said. “However, we believe that having temperatures checked at the beginning is just not enough. Infection still has potential of spreading and fever can be detected after an eight-hour shift starts and people can be infected after entering.”

Juan said the Essential Wristband was tested in October and the test was a success. “Our process was simple,” he said. “Everyone was checked for fever when they entered the facility and they were asked to wear a mask. We offered The Essential Wristband to everybody. The wristband was worn at all times at the event by staff and clients. Our job was assigning a ‘Safety Protocol’ where we were all responsible for creating awareness and detecting the visual fever symptom when the wristband turned color. If detected, we were to pull the person aside and perform a second test using a thermometer scanner. We have all the data to explain and showcase this safety process with our technology. We shared the findings with the CDC.”

The process is intended to be added to any workforce where employees’ temperatures are checked at the beginning of shifts. Juan said he believes the spread of COVID-19 is happening during work time and at indoor facilities activities. By wearing his Essential Wristband, he believes changes in body temperature can be detected throughout the day and COVID-19 infection discovered early.

Juan’s business is based in Canyon Lake and he has been a resident of the city for 16 years. For the past 10 years he has been supporting the MMA world with a mouth guard safety device. He said he came up with the mouth guard because of the issues he saw in hospitalizations after major weight cuttings. The mouth guard changes color, alerting the fighter to hydrate.