New face mask inspired by pill packs and home furnace filters
The BioAid mask looks different than most health masks you've seen, because it's based on the idea that the best mask is the one that can be readily made. Its shell is like a retail blister pack and its filter is a swatch of the same HEPA material used in many home furnace filters and has been shown by NASA to be an efficient particulate filter, with some barrier material added to each side. The BioAid isn't N95-certified yet, but co-inventor Marcus Hays is confident it soon will be -- and that the mask has value in the meantime as CDC mask guidelines broaden as the coronavirus emergency develops.
Hays' startup Orbis, based in Mill Valley, California, is developing in-wheel electric drive systems for automakers but temporarily pivoted to masks after an assessment of available materials. They determined that polyethylene plastic sheets are plentiful and familiar to many plastic thermoforming companies. The millions of blister packs, pill packs and water bottles they make are all close industrial cousins of the BioAid mask. "Normally it's not the most environmentally friendly way to go," Hays admitted, "but in this crisis, it's the smart thing to do."
The front of the BioAid mask shell is perforated with breathing holes that are backed by a two inch square of common HEPA air filter material. "Most important is the very small area of filter compared to a conventional N95," Hays said, "because (the availability of) filter material is at crisis stage." HEPA material is regarded as a relatively effective medium for capturing viruses, especially if the virus is attached to larger carrier particle like aerosolized mucous or saliva.
The BioAid mask can be washed with soap and water or in the top rack of a dishwasher, unlike common N95 respirators. That reusability should help lower effective cost, which Hays said will be in line with other N95 respirators when produced at volume, though that level of production has yet to take place. Even if the price were somewhat higher than a traditional N95 respirator, Hays contends the BioAid's easy cleaning and reusability are important features.
https://www.cnet.com/news/pill-packs-and-home-furnaces-inspired-this-new-health-mask/?ftag=CAD-04-10abi6g&bhid=24447454298893839703959737945916&mid=12778069
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