KRONA; a medical safety mask

KRONA mask

We cannot defeat the coronavirus just yet, however, we can think about ways to slow it down. The shortage of medical safety masks is a big problem [Wijngaarden,2020]. What if we can make a medical safety mask with basic materials, available for everyone in the medical world who desperately need it? Would this help to slow down this crisis and prevent more deaths? Would it support medical staff and protect the vulnerable? I introduce the KRONA mask, a medical mask with an active charcoal filter, which is locally produced in the Netherlands (and potentially upscaled to a European or world scale). The mask is targeted towards the medical world; hospitals and care houses, and other critical professions; for example the cleaners of hospitals and informal caregivers. The hospitals need a fully qualified mask. For this, I plan to produce qualified masks (which need testing). Based on several sources and similar products I expect the mask to filter up to 99,6% of the Covid-19 virus [Shimabuku, & Arakawa, 2017] [n.d., 2020]. This is the same protection rate as the ffp3 masks used in hospitals with the highest protection possible. The active charcoal in the filter results in these characteristics. Presumably, the filter has to be changed once in 2 or 3 months [n.d., 2020]. This hopefully helps to prevent this crisis from escalating more.

Shimabuku, QL, & Sayuri Arakawa, F. (2017). Water treatment with exceptional virus inactivation using activated carbon modified with silver (Ag) and copper oxide (CuO) nanoparticles. Environmental Technology, 38(16). doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/09593330.2016.1245361Frequently Asked Questions. (n.d.). Retrieved April 1, 2020, from https://cambridgemask.com/frequently-asked-questions/Wijngaarden, A. van. (2020, March 18). Thuiszorg en huisartsen Noorden schreeuwen om mondkapjes (en niet alles wat ze aangeboden krijgen is medisch verantwoord). Retrieved April 1, 2020, from https://www.dvhn.nl/groningen/Thuiszorg-en-huisartsen-Noorden-schreeuwen-om-mondkapjes-en-niet-alles-wat-ze-aangeboden-krijgen-is-medisch-verantwoord-25475646.html?harvest_referrer=https://www.google.com/