A revolutionary improvement in personal protection equipment against COVID-19

由于缺乏有效的个人防护装备（PPE）来阻止通过头部粘膜传播的COVID-19空气传播感染，NHS、养老院和基本工作人员正在死亡。我们的创新产品是一种防毒充气头罩（AVAH），它可以覆盖头部，为佩戴者提供没有病毒的空气，从而阻断病毒传播途径。我们的AVAH比目前的医疗PPE或工业用动力空气呼吸防护（PARP）装置更好，因为它更舒适和有效，具有全方位的可视性，安静以帮助通信，模块化（因此易于清洁），并且一些组件已经在大规模生产。AVAH由一个个人吸入器组成，该吸入器由一个风扇组成，该风扇将空气通过两个过滤阶段。初级过滤器捕捉雾滴和大的灰尘颗粒。内部的高效微粒空气过滤器（HEPA）可以捕获更小的颗粒。风扇由可充电电池供电，并通过消音器将空气通过柔性软管输送到引擎盖。引擎盖因空气压力而膨胀。多余的空气被排出并通过引擎盖的渗透性袖口过滤。它也有简单的控制和报警，以确保用户的安全。我们有两个关键目标，这是：(i)启动生产前“现场”试验和市场测试，使用改进的工业风扇/过滤器系统，结合我们的新型通风柜设计；（ii）设计、测试和认证我们自己的风扇/过滤器单元，专门针对医疗保健用途进行优化，降低成本，提高可用性，提高对供应链问题的弹性。我们将开始批量生产AVAH，目标是每周生产数千台。我们的重点领域是设计，开发和批量生产我们的AVAH，用于国内和海外。我们预计，我们的创新成果的改良版还会有多种应用，包括预防花粉热，并供其他公务员使用，例如监狱、警察和边境管制人员，这些工作人员可能接触到传染病、呼吸道疾病，如结核病。WorkSafe设计AVAH是创新的，因为它的设计是模块化的，它解决了与常用面罩，遮光罩或工业PARP单元相关的许多问题和压力。临床医生和护理人员的反馈非常积极，因为他们对AVAH的病毒保护能力、轻便、安静和全方位视野印象深刻。-附加信息-我们已经设计，测试和3d打印了预生产的AVAH（更名为“AirHood”），现在使用定制组件构建，旨在克服满足所需强度和稳健性标准的现成部件（连接器等）的不可用性，这是公告机构认证（法律要求）所必需的。为了解决这些问题，提高气泵机组的效率，我们设计了注塑模具来制造所需的零部件。如果能够为这些额外成本找到资金，这也有效地加快了上市路线。因此，通过Innovate UK的“扩展影响”呼吁获得额外资金的可能性，将是获得这些基本资金的理想途径，由WorkSafe设计总监弥补差额。快速进展的另一个限制是，3d打印的AirHood单元不能用于公告机构认证，因为它们由不同的材料制成，而不是由注塑过程产生的。因此，为了使用模具部件制造成品，并能够将AirHood产品提交公告机构认证，我们首先需要找到额外的资金来支付注塑工具的费用。因此，WorkSafe Design正在为这个“影响扩展”应用程序请求额外的资金，以支付三个注塑工具，Gasket工具，一套原型软管，PCB上一些额外的分包设计工作（为批量生产做好准备）和EMC测试的成本。一旦这个财务和工具问题得到解决，我们可以迅速进行制造模具，制造AirHood，并开始产生巨大的经济和健康效益，通过开发这个产品的巨大（全球）市场。

NHS, care-home and essential workers are dying, due to the lack of effective Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) that stops air-borne infection of COVID-19 occurring through the mucous membranes of the head. Our innovation is an anti-virus, air-fed hood (AVAH), that covers the head and provides virus-free air to the wearer, thereby blocking this virus-transmission pathway. Our AVAH is better than current healthcare PPE, or industrial-use Powered Air-Respiratory Protection (PARP) units, because it is more comfortable and effective, has all-round visibility, is quiet to aid communication, modular (therefore easy to clean) and some components are already in large-scale production.The AVAH consists of a personal aspirator that comprises of a fan, which pulls air through two stages of filtration. The primary filter catches mist droplets and large dust particles. The inner high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filter catches smaller particles. The fan is powered by a rechargeable battery and delivers air, via a silencer, via a flexible hose to the hood. The hood is inflated by the pressure of the air. Excess air is exhausted and filtered through the hood's permeable cuff. It also has simple controls and alarms to ensure user safety.We have two key objectives, which are to: (i) initiate pre-production 'field' trials and market testing using a modified industrial fan/filter system in conjunction with our novel hood design, (ii) design, test and certify of our own fan/filter unit optimised specifically for healthcare use, reduced cost, better usability and improved resilience against supply chain problems. We shall proceed to mass manufacture of the AVAH, with a goal of producing thousands per week.Our focus areas are the design, development and mass production of our AVAH, for use both here and overseas. We foresee multiple additional applications for modified versions of our innovation, including protection against hay-fever and use by other public servants, e.g. prison, police and border control officers, where staff could be exposed to infectious, respiratory diseases such as tuberculosis.The WorkSafe Design AVAH is innovative, because its design is modular and it solves the numerous problems and stresses associated with commonly used facemasks, visors or industrial PARP units. Feedback from clinicians and care workers has been extremely positive, because they were impressed with the AVAH's virus protection capability, lightness, quietness and all-round field of vision.-ADDITIONAL INFORMATION-We have designed, tested and 3D-printed the pre-production AVAH (renamed the "AirHood"), now built using bespoke components designed to overcome the non-availability of off-the-shelf parts (connectors etc) that met the required strength and robustness criteria, necessary for Notified Body Certification (a legal requirement). To solve these problems and improve the efficiency of the air-pump unit, we designed injection-moulding tools for the manufacture of the required component parts. This also effectively accelerates routes to market, if funding can be found for these additional costs. The potential for additional funding via this “Extension for Impact” call by Innovate UK, therefore, would be an ideal route to obtain these essential funds, with the WorkSafe Design Directors making up the difference.An additional constraint to rapid progress is that the 3D-printed AirHood units cannot be used for Notified Body Certification, because they are made from a different material to that which would result from the injection-moulding process. To make the finished product using moulded-component parts and to be able to submit the AirHood product for Notified Body Certification, therefore, we first need to find additional funds to pay for the injection-moulding tools. WorkSafe Design, therefore, is requesting additional funding on this “Extension for Impact” application, to cover the cost of three injection moulding tools, the Gasket tooling, a set of prototype hoses, some additional subcontract design work on the PCB (to finalise it ready for mass production) and EMC testing. Once this financial and tooling problem is solved, we can proceed rapidly to making the moulding tools, manufacture the AirHood and begin to generate enormous economic and health benefits, by exploiting the huge (global) market for this product.