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My contribution to the protection against Covid-19

Attention! Due to the speed of publication of the article, spelling errors and typos are possible in the text.



As you know, this virus is mainly transmitted by airborne droplets and until a vaccine has been developed, many are trying to protect themselves with medical masks, despite the fact that protection against their use is very doubtful, for a number of well-known reasons.

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By my profession I am an engineer, I design artificial structures (bridges, overpasses) and as a hobby I come up with various interesting things that are relevant at the moment. One of my successful projects is the kids animation studio Kids Animation Desk 2.0 (ForAnimation.ru), which helps children easily make cartoons for which I recently received a patent for an invention.

So, a few years ago, I set myself the task of coming up with an alternative to the usual medical mask, which would be more convenient, effective and relatively inconspicuous. In the course of work, I went through a lot of options, starting from the appearance and placement methods, ending with the enumeration of protection options. Omitting the description of all the intermediate options, I will focus on the final at the moment.

At work, under the keyboard, I always have a sheet of paper that I use for current recordings, and I also sketch ideas that the brain synthesizes in the background during the main activity.



The project is still quite crude, but in this situation, with an increase in the spread of infection, I decided to quickly bring it to its logical conclusion and to reveal its essence ahead of schedule, with the aim of speedy implementation as a modern means of respiratory protection. I am also filing a parallel application for a patent for an invention.

The project has the working name β€œZiNa” - a protective individual NOSAD, its essence lies in the bacterial-viral filtration of inhaled air, which consists of three main parts:

  • nose block with valve system;
  • airway;
  • filter cartridge.



The general diagram of the device of this unit, in particular the nose block with a valve system, is shown; it is not yet fully functional ready, but this is quite enough to show the basic principles of operation.



The operation of the nasal block with the valve system, the cycle of the device during inhalation and exhalation through the operation of valves that ensure the safety and functionality of the device are shown.

Nose block:

This compact unit, placed on the face, is inserted into the nostrils and serves to ensure air circulation with the separation of the inhaled and exhaled air flows through the valve system, while the valve with the ball serves to block the air line from the exhaled air into the filter cartridge, and is discharged directly, this opens a valve with an annular membrane that works to release exhaled air and excludes the flow of untreated air by inhalation.

To ensure compact visual and aesthetic characteristics, it is recommended that this unit is made of transparent (solid) soft plastic or silicone.

Airway:

It is a silicone tube with a diameter of 12-14 mm and serves to connect the nose block with a filter cartridge, forming a single system.

Filter cartridge:

Serves for bacterial-viral filtration of inhaled air, use a bacterial-viral filter membrane as a filter membrane, which is used during artificial ventilation of the lungs during anesthesia or in the intensive care unit, the principle of the filter is electrostatic. For easy change of the filtering membrane, fastening latches are provided in the filtering cassette for quick filter change even during its operation.



Placement of the filter is planned on the side of the neck or on the back of the head with an applicator or magnetic belt.

During the development and implementation of this project, a modern alternative to the medical mask will appear, which will allow you to effectively filter the inhaled air, using a compact device with a related filter element from the face area to preserve the aesthetic and visual properties of a person.

As you can see, the proposed design is extremely simple and trouble-free, you can even make a house using a 3d printer, and for mass production, it will be enough to make two molds, which will allow mass production to be established in the shortest possible time, while the cost of such a device will be no more than 100 rubles.

04/04/2020, the continuation of this topic:
Taking into account comments and my own reasoning, I slightly modified the nose block: I closed the round valve with a mesh, as it is silver-plated, then made a niche for condensate drainage, while still moving the valve with the ball away from the nasal canal, eliminating the possibility of it getting wet and sticking.

The design of this unit is completely symmetrical and is assembled from two halves (it is assumed that at the end of the day the device will be independently disassembled and washed), this will also allow to start production using one mold. The nose block is fixed on the one hand with the help of the air duct and, on the other hand, by means of an elastic cap or a round gasket.

For the operational completion of the project and the launch of production, I am looking for partners: t-ele@mail.ru

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