https://www.israel21c.org/new-ventilator-mask-protects-entire-face-from-coronavirus/
Many people are wearing facemasks to avoid breathing airborne coronavirus particles, and to keep from touching their noses and mouths.
However, even N95 masks can’t fully block tiny virus particles and can’t kill the virus (two masks under development in Israel aim to do that). Any blocked viral particles stay on the mask’s surface and pose a hazard when handled and thrown away.
Furthermore, facemasks don’t cover eyes. Although the nose is the main route for coronavirus into the lungs, some researchers believe the eye’s conjunctiva is another possible point of entry.
That’s why Israeli physician and serial medical-device inventor Dr. Noam Gavriely worked quickly to develop what he calls the ViriMASK Protective Oculo-Respirator.
ViriMASK is strapped around the head, covering the eyes with a see-through visor and the nose and mouth with a filtering mechanism. The device can be washed and reused. The filters must be replaced after 12 hours of use and disposed into a special envelope containing disinfectant.
The patent-pending ViriMASK should be ready for efficacy testing at an independent lab around mid-April.
The cost is expected to be about $50, including a pack of two filters and disposal envelopes. Additional filter-envelope packs will cost around $2 apiece.
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