The mask, which was developed in the Faculty of Materials Science and Engineering at the Technion, uses a heat-based disinfection process produced in a carbon fiber layer inside the mask using a mobile phone charger; A patent was filed for the development in the United States
The last few months have made the protective mask a mandatory item, and we have all been exposed to the different types of masks, primarily the N95 type mask. Along with physical distancing and maintaining hygiene, we were required to make sure to use masks. However, the authorities made it clear that the use of masks must be correct. Among other things, this means that even if we managed to keep the mask clean and dry during the day, in the end we have to change it.
These guidelines, and the urgent need for masks for the medical and paramedical teams treating corona patients, led to a sudden demand for these masks and a pursuit of manufacturers and suppliers all over the world. In the United States, for example, about 3.5 billion masks are needed to protect oneself in the event of an acute outbreak of the corona virus - a hundred times the number of masks actually available there. There is also a shortage of masks in Israel, which worsened with the Ministry of Health's announcement of the obligation to use a mask.
In the laboratory of Prof. Yair Ein-Eli, Dean of the Faculty of Materials Science and Engineering at the Technion, a reusable mask was developed that can be heated in a controlled manner - a process that destroys the viruses that have accumulated on it during the day and prepares it for reuse. The innovative concept is based on an inner layer of carbon fibers homogeneously dispersed in the mask. When the fiber layer is heated using a low current (2 amps) from a standard source - a portable charger, a USB connection or a cell phone charger - it destroys the viruses.
The research group of Prof. Ein-Eli, together with the research groups of Prof. Debi Lindel and Prof. Oded Beja from the Faculty of Biology, produced and tested the prototype of the mask, which is charged by connecting to a mobile phone charger. With the assistance of the Technion's business unit, a patent was filed for the development in the USA and negotiations are underway for its commercialization with industry parties.
