Powered Air Purifying Respirator
For healthcare professionals*Please find Hungarian translation here.
The Powered Air Purifying Respirator (short: PAPR) is a sealed facemask with external ventilation, that allows the user (doctors and nurses) to breathe purified air. Since they’re the ones working in close proximity with multiple COVID-19 patients constantly it’s crucial to keep them secure from the patients’ droplets.
Primary use: healthcare workers (doctors, nurses)
Secondary use (optional): to “separate” patients who don’t require intensive care from other patients and hospital’s staff. The external ventilation also helps their breathing.
Prototype
We’ve got the inspiration from the Italian company, Isinnova’s solution who have been using Decathlon’s snorkeling masks. These sealed snorkeling masks (just like healthcare or hazard masks) are great at keeping the user safe from droplets.
HME filters are attached to filter both the air that goes into the mask and the breath that goes out.
The external ventilator supports breathing and provides slight pressure within the mask, which helps to avoid breathing in outside air that can contain the virus.
The battery life is up to 5-7 hours (can be changed easily, while one battery is charging the other can be used). Once the battery is running low the device gives both audio and visual alert to the user. The air pressure can be set by each user to their custom needs.
Unlike many other similar solutions, we’ve decided to use active respirators because
- It allows users to breathe easily, even during heavy physical load
- thanks to the slight overpressure even if the mask’s sealing has flaws the air will be flowing from the inside to the outside, not to the opposite – keeping the user much safer than the passive respirators.
Compared to the currently used FFP2 masks and face shield combinations, our PAPR provides increased safety for the user, as it
- is filtering both the incoming and outflowing air
- can be used multiple times, by multiple users
- protects the user from aerosols and droplets.
More details and documentation are available from the project’s Github page at
https://github.com/nowtechnologies/open_PAPR
We’d like to clarify that these documents are and will remain free to use, because it is in our intention that all hospitals in need could use it if necessary.
Validation
The prototypes have been tested by healthcare professionals at
- Gyor’s hospital,
- Mosonmagyarovar hospital, and
- the intensive therapy clinic at SOTE.
NOW
We are currently in touch with the local authorities, trying to figure out how to supply as many hospitals as possible with our PAPR in Hungary.
Please note that although we did our best to create a safe gear for healthcare workers in an extremely short time, and we’ve been told by medical workers that it’s much safer than their current supplies, our PAPR is by no means certified medical equipment. So despite our best efforts, we can’t guarantee 100% protection against COVID-19 and can’t undertake any responsibility for the unintended consequences that could occur while and/or after using it.
We can provide further support and further details to healthcare facilities and makers who want to make the connection, if necessary. Feel free to reach out to us at info@nowtech.hu
