Lone Star Prize Application • 2020 (2020)

Digital Fabrication of Casted Sterilizable Silicone Respirators for Healthcare Personnel

Description

Wearing the proper personal protective equipment (PPE) is critical to protecting healthcare and essential workers during current and future pandemics. While one-time disposable PPE is a convenient solution, it is significantly restricted by the available supply. Several disinfection procedures, such as UVC or vaporized hydrogen peroxide sanitization, allow the reuse of PPE; however, these solutions also require expensive viral-free facilities for verification. To overcome these difficulties, we have designed a silicone-based mask that can be fabricated using maker-friendly processes with 3D printed molds and medical-grade castable silicone. The process is capable of scaling to batch or mass production (e.g., 100-1,000 silicone masks/day). Similar to other silicone-based products such as baby bottle nipple, our silicone-based mask is i) safe to allow long-term direct skin contact, ii) can be viral-free using a conventional heating based sanitization, iii) provides an air-tight but comfortable interface between mask and face tissue, iv) can be reused many times, v) is ergonomic and soft for extended use. As a maker-friendly fabrication process, this respirator design allows access to grassroots innovation by the larger maker communities around Texas.