Surgical helmets can be converted into efficient disinfectable powered air-purifying respirators - 25/05/22
, Agnieszka Anna Gorzkowska-Sobas, PhD c, Kenny Hedlund, MsC d, Martin Øhlund Øyen, MsC e, Lars Kanten f, Peter Grant, MD, PhD g, h, Rune B. Jakobsen, MD, PhD a, bHighlights |
• | Powered air-purifying respirators (PAPRs) are not designed for the use in hospital settings, certainly not the operating room. |
• | The disinfection of PAPRs is challenging. |
• | Surgical helmets are readily available, but do not provide respiratory protection. |
• | A 3D-printed filter adaptor renders surgical helmets into PAPRs for the use in the operating room. |
• | The surgical helmet PAPR provides 430 times better protection than FFP3. |
Abstract |
Background |
Filtering facepiece respirators often fail to provide sufficient protection due to a poor fit. Powered air-purifying respirators (PAPRs) are not designed for healthcare personnel, and are challenging to disinfect. Surgical helmets (SH) are available in many United States hospitals but do not provide respiratory protection. Several modifications to SH have been suggested, but none are sufficiently compliant with safety and efficiency standards. The purpose of this investigation was the development of a filter adaptor, which converts SHs into efficient, safe, and disinfectable PAPRs.
Methods |
Four critical features were investigated close to regulatory requirements: total inward leakage of particles, CO2 concentrations, intra-helmet differential pressure, and automated disinfection.
Results |
The average total inward leakage in the 2 independent tests were 0.005% and 0.01%. CO2 concentrations were lower than in the original SH. The modification generates a positive differential pressure. The filter's performance was not compromised after 50 cycles in a sterilization machine.
Discussion |
The modified SH provides several hundred times better protection than FFP-3 masks.
Conclusions |
Surgical helmets can be modified into safe, efficient, and disinfectable PAPRs, suitable for HCP and the operating room in particular. They can play a role in the preparedness for upcoming events requiring efficient respiratory protection.
Le texte complet de cet article est disponible en PDF.Key words : 3D printing, Respiratory protection, COVID-19, Emergency Prepardeness, Total Inward Leakage, Orthopedic Surgery
Plan
| Funding/support: This project won the "Corona Idea Award" with a limited grant from the South-Eastern Norway Regional Health Authorities technology transfer office, Inven2 AS, in 2020. The Norwegian Hospital Procurement Trust and the South-Eastern Norway Regional Health Authority funded the Norwegian Defence Research Establishment (FFI) for the CO2 and TIL testing in the aerosol chamber. |
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| Conflicts of interest: The first author owns the intellectual property (IP) rights of the device described in this paper with a patent-pending. |
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| Ethics approval and consent to participate: This investigation has been approved by the research board of the department of orthopedics at our institution [02.04.2020]. This investigation does not fall under the Norwegian law of “medical and health-related research” (“Lov om medisinsk og helsefaglig Forskning”). Therefore, ethical committee approval does not apply in the Norwegian jurisdiction. |
Vol 50 - N° 6
P. 624-630 - juin 2022 Retour au numéro
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