Researchers from the University of Southampton have developed a prototype personal respirator intended to address the limitations of the existing protective equipment used by doctors and nurses.
Developed from scratch in just one week the co-called ‘PeRSo’ system uses a fan to draw air through a High Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) filter that is delivered to the wearer via an enclosed hood or face mask.
The device, which is currently at the prototype stage, is designed to be lightweight and quiet and where possible has been made using off-the shelf-components and readily available materials and manufacturing methods such as laser cutting, 3D printing and a lightweight sewing machine.
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Developed in collaboration with engineers from the National Oceanography Centre, McLaren, Kemp Sails, and Southampton manufacturing firm Baynhams, the system as already passed first-stage ‘sniff’ tests where a strong-tasting vapour is sprayed around the air inlet to see whether the user can detect it, and no penetration occurred.
Hywel Morgan, Professor of Bioelectronics at the University of Southampton said: “This is an excellent example of industry, universities and hospitals combining their expertise and answering the call to develop solutions needed to save lives in the current crisis”.
The next steps are tests with doctors and nurses on wards, to obtain feedback on comfort, usability and efficiency. If the tests are successful, the design will also be published open-specification so it would be available to other manufacturers and people in need around the world.
The group’s immediate aim is to develop and scale up production and make the product available to as many healthcare professionals as possible.
The group said that is also exploring the development of a prototype respirator for the developing world that could be made from components available to low-resource countries.
Paul Elkington, Professor of Respiratory Medicine at the University of Southampton and Honorary Consultant at UHS, said: “We must minimise the risk of infection for medical staff and stop them getting sick at the peak of the pandemic, so that they can care for others. The engineering team have rapidly developed something simple yet effective. The HEPA filtered air removes 99.95 per cent of particulate matter and the face mask protects from splashes, and so we think this will reduce the risk of infection.”
Brilliant use of home grown resources and manufacturing skills. Hope it gets through the front line testing as well.
Great news for PeRSo which we all hope can be available soon for the NHS and others. Well done – every development is great for all us.
Fantastic news – saving lives is critical so your help will be well received.
Con=gratulations to your team of experts.
We really are a nation of innovators. If we could learn how to market and produce efficiently we could, once again, become an industrial world leader. Why does it take a major crisis to bring out the best in us. Well done to all of those taking part.
Absolutely brilliant! You are working together in an engineering capacity with known, easily sourced components and materials . With this HEPA filter unit , proven in many industrial applications, it should prove to be a winner. Engineers, Medics , Science and Academia working together works wonders. After this pandemic, the U.K. government should rebalance our economy by letting Engineering accomplish dialog with uk universities , academics . Our uk engineers are “THE “ best !
The concept is almost identical to the 3M Racal Respirator I have been using for many years for woodturning. There are multiple versions of these positive pressure, hepa filtered air hoods in use in industry and hobby workshops. Many come with an impact resistant helmet and face plate which are heavy and not necessary for hospital use. There must be a many in woodworkers workshops and trade distributors’ showrooms.
Well done to come up with a simple,lightweight, ready to produce item that can potentially be used for a full shift. The secret is in making it reusable, or cheap enough to be disposable. For Covid19 this means being able to sterilise easily with current procedures and equipment without causing serious degradation during the sterilisation process or causing overloading of the sterilisation department.
After we exit from this epidemic I am sure there are many workers who would be grateful for the ability to protect their lungs at a fraction of the price for current devices with much greater comfort than tight fitting masks and separate goggles.
I look forward to reading of the authors success.
This is so simple that it beggars the question why has it not been proposed and manufactured already, but then the obvious is not always obvious.
I use a battery filter helmet for my woodworking hobby, the face is under gentle positive pressure and the visor does not mist-up, comfortable enough to wear for hours. My paramedic son has asked if my helmet could be used but the filters are suitable for fine dust only.
This proposed helmet should work provided the filter is pathogen proof and can be disposed of without contamination. The prototype design looks cheap enough to dispose of every part but keep the motor and fan.
I look forward to hearing it is in immediate production.
This just shows the engineering capability of our universities, well done on the development.
Fingers crossed all the testing goes well. Hopefully the NHS and all front line workers can use this soon.
We were using these designs in the 90s in the smelting potrooms where pollution was significant.
Awesome effort and looks feasible – all that is needed is certification. As it stands it looks like it met a now-defunct standard. The current standard would see it need the filter protecting and must be shakeproof, the CO2 must be adequately evacuated from the breathing zone, and suitable alarms incorporated.
Been around for years, so not ‘designed’ maybe just remodelled.