Greetings from NY. It sounds like you have a tremendous amount on your plate. In regards to PPE, try to find Scuba masks. Reach out to Formlabs and MasksOn about their scuba-helmet-to-filter adapter. Engineers from Formlabs, Onshape, iRobot and many others are teaming up to mass produce adapters to re-purpose scuba masks for hospital use.
Scuba masks have the benefit of a full face seal that could be tested with a fit-test machine. Formlabs is working with Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH), Massachusetts General Hospital and several others to get them onto the front line. They should also offer a higher level of protection than a normal N95 disposable mask could offer.
If you are able to get a supply of scuba masks, this is a very promising solution. This is not a rushed thrown together solution, it looks like the best alternative to a full face mask. I can imagine the protection factor of a scuba mask if significantly better than a disposable n95.
Also, in regards to N95 disposable mask cleaning & reusing, it is a tricky subject. You cant douse them in alcohol or bleach because it negates the charged nature of the blown particulate polypropelene layers. Here's a good scientific summarized report with several additional links that are excellent:
In case anyone needs a refresher, make sure folks brush up on mask fit checks, they are extremely important in these times. Also, scold anyone that is not clean-shaven (I've had to remind my brother many times lol)
I wish you strength, health, safety, and rest. Wishing you the best,
Hi Mike,
Greetings from NY. It sounds like you have a tremendous amount on your plate. In regards to PPE, try to find Scuba masks. Reach out to Formlabs and MasksOn about their scuba-helmet-to-filter adapter. Engineers from Formlabs, Onshape, iRobot and many others are teaming up to mass produce adapters to re-purpose scuba masks for hospital use.
[https://formlabs.com/covid-19-response/|https://formlabs.com/covid-19-response/]
[https://maskson.org/|https://maskson.org/]
Scuba masks have the benefit of a full face seal that could be tested with a fit-test machine. Formlabs is working with Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH), Massachusetts General Hospital and several others to get them onto the front line. They should also offer a higher level of protection than a normal N95 disposable mask could offer.
If you are able to get a supply of scuba masks, this is a very promising solution. This is not a rushed thrown together solution, it looks like the best alternative to a full face mask. I can imagine the protection factor of a scuba mask if significantly better than a disposable n95.
Also, in regards to N95 disposable mask cleaning & reusing, it is a tricky subject. You cant douse them in alcohol or bleach because it negates the charged nature of the blown particulate polypropelene layers. Here's a good scientific summarized report with several additional links that are excellent:
[https://m.box.com/shared_item/https%3A%2F%2Fstanfordmedicine.box.com%2Fv%2Fcovid19-PPE-1-1|https://m.box.com/shared_item/https%3A%2F%2Fstanfordmedicine.box.com%2Fv%2Fcovid19-PPE-1-1]
Otherwise, Battelle has a concentrated hydrogen peroxide vapor cleaning process that has been Okay-ed by the FDA:
[https://www.battelle.org/newsroom/news-details/battelle-deploys-decontamination-system-for-reusing-n95-masks|https://www.battelle.org/newsroom/news-details/battelle-deploys-decontamination-system-for-reusing-n95-masks]
[https://twitter.com/Battelle/status/1247642452757852161|https://twitter.com/Battelle/status/1247642452757852161]
In case anyone needs a refresher, make sure folks brush up on mask fit checks, they are extremely important in these times. Also, scold anyone that is not clean-shaven (I've had to remind my brother many times lol)
I wish you strength, health, safety, and rest. Wishing you the best,
-Anthony Kouttron
