We Need Better Masks
hbr.org
hbr.org
I'm a YC alum in the healthcare field, and this respirator mask is a project I spun up with friends.
We designed and are actively selling a home-grown full face respirator that addresses 4 of the 5 criteria in this HBR article: Protection, Scalability, Comfort, and Reusability. Style is in the eye of the beholder, and some people think our design is ugly ;)
Protection: only full face respirators have proven effective in the field against Covid. Our respirator is a sealed system for 3-in-1 protection, replacing separate mask, googles, and face shield.
Scalability: we designed it for rapid-response distributed manufacturing.
Reusable: it is washable in soap and water. You can also alcohol spray/wipe it. Additionally, the filters are replaceable, and super-easy to do. The filter media we've tested ourselves at 94% 0.3 micron efficacy; however, that is not an independent certified test.
Comfort: it is cooler, dryer, and more comfortable to wear for long duration. My daughter has rock-climbed in it for several hours, to give you an idea of how comfortable it is. The design saves the nose and cheeks from the pressures of partial masks and googles. Cold air is cycled in and through by wearer's own respiration.
Style: Well, we can't win them all :) Aesthetically some people like it, some people don't. We do our best, but we prioritize function/safety, scalability, and price point over style.
What are the real problems with masks? Did they bother to talk to or even count mask users? From my experience masks are inconvenient to carry, put on, and take off. Wearing them is not only uncomfortable but adds minor difficulty to breathing.
My work as a cleaner is exhausting and accounted for by the hour. Masks turn my work from miserable to borderline unbearable. Exactly how do masks effect temperature and breathing? No one knows or cares! I am convinced I have experienced several events of serious and dangerous hypoxia as a result of needed to wear a mask while working. Have any of these people bothered to quantify the risks of hypoxia while doing strenuous work and wearing a mask? Maybe ivory tower work doesn't get them breathing hard so it is okay?
Being slightly off with their marketing game might be excusable, but one would expect medical professionals to have some nonzero level of bedside manner and actual interest in not doing harm.
This article is all about creating “better” masks for general public usage in social situations.
It seems to say that even with, or because of, those not wearing masks, the mask-wearers need more effective masks.
US Experiment on infants withholding affection: https://stpauls.vxcommunity.com/Issue/Us-Experiment-On-Infan...
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/?term=Baby+development+witho...
They touched on multiple points of "better" in this article... one of which is "Comfort", "For example, Stanford researchers are experimenting with wearable devices that pump oxygen into masks to make them more breathable."