A South Bay teen has come up with a way to create a condom that can detect if someone has a sexually transmitted disease.
Adam Arreola, a senior at Bellarmine High School in San Jose, last month filed paperwork with the United States Patent Office. Once approved, the student said his condom will instantly detect an STD and offer the user visual proof.
Adam said he has been working on the idea for an STD-detecting condom for the last four years. The student said he cannot discuss the invention in depth for proprietary reasons, but said it will be easy to tell if the user or their partner has an STD.
The condom will change in color when it detects someone has an STD, Adam said.
The student's father, Tony Arreola, said he is extremely proud of his son and that the idea was first talked about while his Adam was in eighth grade. It since has been one high-level meeting after another for his son.
"He's had experience of working with two patent attorneys, and FDA consultant because it is considered a medical device, and learn about the process," Tony Arreola said.
Once Adam gets his patent, he hopes schoolmates and other use the technology to make better choices.
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"I think it would be ideal if it became the norm because there's no downside to knowing if your partner has an STD," Adam said. "It can help save lives."
Adam said he will either create a startup to manufacture the condom or sell the idea to one of the big condom producers.
