Low-cost, Reusable, Fabric Mask with Virus Trapping and Inactivation Properties

与Covid-19大流行相关的冠状病毒似乎具有极强的传染性，迫使所有卫生和护理工作者采取相当大的预防措施，以防止感染或传播病毒。这导致了对一次性个人防护装备（PPE），特别是口罩的巨大需求。全球卫生保健系统的高需求延伸了供应链，使公众无法采购到适合自己使用的口罩。这对大量无法获得适当个人防护装备的老年人和高危人群尤其不利，在获得疫苗接种之前，他们实际上处于社会孤立状态。Hothouse Medical旨在展示一种低成本、具有病毒捕获和灭活特性的织物口罩的可行性。具有主动消毒性能的替代口罩之间的一个关键区别在于，我们的技术有望承受多次重复的高温洗涤循环，从而创造出真正可重复使用的物品。评估将确认这种口罩技术是否能够承受反复的高温洗涤，同时保持捕获和灭活冠状病毒的能力。

The Coronavirus associated with the Covid-19 pandemic appears to be extremely contagious, forcing all health and care workers to take considerable precautions against being infected or passing the virus on. This has resulted in a huge demand for single-use Personal Protection Equipment, (PPE), particularly Face Masks. Such high demands from global healthcare systems are outstretching supply chains, leaving the general public unable to source suitable masks for their own use. This is particularly bad for the huge number of elderly and at-risk individuals who do not have access to appropriate PPE, effectively leaving them socially isolated until a vaccination becomes available.Hothouse Medical aims to demonstrate feasibility of a low-cost, fabric mask with virus trapping and inactivation properties. A key differentiator between alternative masks with active sanitization properties is that our technology is expected to tolerate multiple, repeat, high temperature laundry cycles, thus creating a truly re-usable item.Evaluations will confirm if such a mask technology can tolerate repeated high temperature washing whilst maintaining the ability to trap and inactivate Coronaviruses.