Stanford Engineers Modify The N95 Mask To Be More Breathable

Amid the COVID-19 outbreak, face masks have become a hot topic because there aren’t enough to give to healthcare staff. While many companies have been trying to make their own face masks, others have resorted to FDA-approved methods for face masks decontamination to reuse them.

Now, Stanford University engineers may have come up with a way to improve the N95 mask, which is the best mask on the market. With their version, the oxygen is extracted and concentrated from the air, thus significantly improves the experience of the wearer.

John Xu and Friedrich “Fritz” Prinz decided to take a break from their project on developing next-generation vehicles’ fuel cells. The pair shifted to how to make use of electrochemical processes.

So, the team has developed a new kind of face mask than can extract as well as concentraing oxygen from the air. By doing this, the wearer won’t go through oxygen deficiency’s adverse effects. The mask also helps prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

Xu explained that, the mask filters the are that come in and out of the wearer’s lúng. The virus together with other particles are trapped in the mesh. N95 masks have become a popular product since the COVID-19 pandemic started break out. They can filter out 95% of small particulate matter, including the virus.

However, wearing the masks for too long, which is something most healthcare professionals are going through at the moment, makes it difficult to breathe. It is estimated that the oxygen intake is reduced from 5 to 20% with the N95 mask. That is a significant number, even for a healthy normal person. Oxygen deficiency can lead to dizziness and lightheadedness. And the wearing time is further prolonged, it can even damage the lungs.

So what the team did was focusing on enhancing the oxygen filtering through the mask. They wanted to make a portable device using these electrochemical processes to improve the oxygen.

And they have succeeded. According to Xu, it’s a small box that can be worn at the waist. There is a tube connecting to the face mask. The pair is trying to make it even more portable, to be better suited for the experience of the user.

>>> How To Decontaminate And Reuse Your N95 Face Mask