Hard hat mounted air curtain adds layer of protection

This is the claim of University of Michigan start-up Taza Aya, whose technology could offer a new protection option for workers in industries where the transmission of respiratory disease is a concern.

Third-party testing of Taza Aya's device is said to have demonstrated the effectiveness of the air curtain, which is curved to encircle the face and emanates from nozzles at the hat's brim. The air curtain is cleansed of pathogens present with a non-thermal plasma.

Previous research by the group of Taza Aya co-founder Herek Clack, U-M associate professor of civil and environmental engineering, showed that their method can remove and kill 99 per cent of airborne viruses in farm and laboratory settings. 

"Our air curtain technology is precisely designed to protect wearers from airborne infectious pathogens, using treated air as a barrier in which any pathogens present have been inactivated so that they are no longer able to infect you if you breathe them in," Clack said in a statement. "It's virtually unheard of - our level of protection against airborne germs, especially when combined with the improved ergonomics it also provides."