The new mask, called the TEAL respirator (“transparent, elastomeric, adaptable, long-lasting”), attempts to solve those problems. The main portion of the mask can be safely sterilized using rubbing alcohol, a microwave, or multiple other methods, while smaller filters are swapped out. The most recent study showed, among other things, that can be reused 100 times. It’s clear, so patients who can’t hear well can follow a doctor’s lips. It’s made of silicone that conforms comfortably to the face. It’s breathable. In a study with healthcare workers at Brigham and Massachusetts General Hospital, most workers preferred it; in fit tests, it also fit different face shapes well.
Sensors in the filters detect the rate of breathing, the temperature of the breath, and the pressure of each inhalation and exhalation, then send that data to an app. In a hospital, the sensors could also send data to an administrator to monitor a larger team. “We showed that using the sensors, we could easily distinguish if there was a leak or not in the mask,” Traverso says. “That really helps inform the user that either the filter is actually saturated, or there’s essentially a short circuit if you have a leak and don’t have a good fit, and it can prompt the user to readjust the mask.”
....The team is working to bring the mask to market with a newly formed company called TEAL Bio, and is currently working on getting regulatory approval—potentially an emergency use authorization—and working to prepare the final design for manufacturing at scale, so it can get both to healthcare workers and the general public.
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