Enabling multiple reprocessing of filtering face-piece respirator (FFR) masks as personal protective equipment (PPE) using a high intensity UV-C radiation portable medical device

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The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the need to protect healthcare staff and other vulnerable groups from respiratory infection and to promote business recovery. Personal protective equipment (PPE), notably disposable, single-user, filtering face-piece respirators (FFRs) are required in unprecedented quantities. Due to the ongoing pandemic, healthcare businesses such as hospitals, primary care practices, dental and residential care homes, are facing disruption, a significantly increased cost burden and a sustained inadequate supply of these protective face masks. As a result, care givers and their patients are at increased risk of contracting and spreading COVID-19\.The WHO has estimated that 89 million FFRs are needed every month in response to the pandemic and worldwide production needs to increase by at least 100 fold. The limited stocks available on the world market are provoking price-inflation and an emergent shortage of medical grade FFRs. In addition, the substantial quantity of 'use once and throw away' FFRs being discarded is creating a mountain of medical waste for incineration that presents a serious and growing threat to the environment.The cyclic sanitisation of 'single-user' FFRs to enable re-use by the same wearer is an attractive option to help manage the limited existing stock and dramatically reduce the quantity of FFRs being discarded and the subsequent damage to the environment. Current options utilise steam-sterilisation, hydrogen peroxide vapour, gamma irradiation or ultraviolet germicidal irradiation (UVGI), but all have significant shortfalls including FFR deformation alongside significant cost, personnel and time overheads.We propose a rapidly available response to the crisis in the form of a low-cost medical device that will enable the wearer to decontaminate their 'single-user' FFRs quickly and easily using a device situated in close proximity to the point-of-use. The purpose is to simplify and speed up the sanitisation process to prolong the lifespan of each facemask using a highly effective process that does not damage their functional integrity.The device is a 'clamshell' sanitiser that uses the ultraviolet (UV)-C waveband, which is known to kill microbes. It consists of a hand-transportable unit that fully encloses a single FFR in a highly reflective environment during each treatment cycle. Once the intensity of UV-C radiation and exposure time required to kill any contaminating microbes has been achieved, the device automatically switches off and opens. The innovation builds on many years of experience developing monolithic selectively metallised polymer structures.Each device will have an in-use lifecycle of 1000 hours. The FFR sanitisation cycle will take less than 10 minutes enabling each device to save the use and disposal of up to 12,000 FFRs per device. This will avoid the environmental impact of adding 12,000 FFRs to the growing mountain of medical waste that requires disposal by incineration. Healthcare workers and other 'at risk' groups could be supplied with the device, involving the sale of multiple millions of units. The successful development and commercialisation of the sanitiser would generate UK employment in manufacturing (plastic injection, assembly etc.), sales, distribution and product support.