iMASC系统或可替代N95口罩

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Brigham妇女医院近日表示，医院正在研发一种新型的可替代在COVID-19大流行期间的N95口罩。

据新闻发布，由波士顿医院和麻省理工学院（MIT）的生物工程师和临床专家组成的团队正在研究在冠状病毒大流行期间能提供保护的“注射成型高压灭菌、可伸缩、舒适型”iMASC系统。

新闻表示，iMASC系统由可消毒的材料制作而成，尚处于原型阶段，但是，发表在英国医学杂志《Open》上的早期研究结果表明，该系统能适合不同大小的脸形，而且，它是可以消毒再利用的。

研究人员选择道康宁QP1-250液态硅橡胶（LSR）作为口罩材料，因为这种材料能承受热度上升到572℉的高温，然后使用注射成型方法制成面具，再加上弹性带和两个阻挡固体颗粒的可替换的过滤器。

Traverso和研究团队对口罩采取多种灭菌方法进行检测，包括高压灭菌、浸泡漂白溶液和浸泡异丙醇。他们观察到，与灭菌前产品相比，灭菌后的口罩无明显差异，10次高压灭菌循环会使口罩稍硬一点。

团队还利用3D建模来观察面具如何才能贴合在各式不同大小的脸形上，接着招募Brigham医护人员进行一项小型的拟合测试研究。所有20名参与者完成了这项测试过程，有60%的人说他们更愿意佩戴iMASC系统而不是外科口罩，20%的人说他们没有偏好；此外，25%的人表示，他们喜欢iMac系统要超过N95，而60%的人则没有偏好。

研究者们也承认这项研究具有局限性，即拟合测试的小样本量，而规模化生产将需要对过滤器组件进行更严格的质量控制。

原文：

Boston researchers have created a potential N95 mask alternative

JULY 8, 2020 BY SEAN WHOOLEY LEAVE A COMMENT

Brigham & Women’s Hospital says it is developing a new, sustainable alternative to N95 respirator masks that are in demand during the COVID-19 pandemic.

A team of bioengineers and clinical experts at the Boston-based hospital and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) are working on the “injection molded autoclavable, scalable, conformable” iMASC system for providing protection during the pandemic, according to a news release out today.

The iMASC, made from sterilizable materials, is still in its prototyping stage, but early results from studies published in the British Medical Journal Open suggest that it could fit faces of different sizes and shapes, plus it could be sterilized for reuse, according to a news release.

Researchers selected Dow Corning QP1-250 liquid silicone rubber (LSR) for the mask material, as it can withstand heat rising up to 572 degrees Fahrenheit, then created masks using injection molding, plus elastic straps and two replaceable filters to keep out solid particles.

“Like many of our colleagues, when we heard about shortages in personal protective equipment, we wanted to help,” Brigham gastroenterologist, MIT biomedical engineer & corresponding author Giovanni Traverso said in the news release. “We thought that an approach that could be helpful would be to develop a mask system that could be readily sterilized in many different ways and reused.”

Traverso and the research team tested a number of sterilization methods on the masks, including autoclaving, soaking in a bleach solution and soaking in isopropanol. They observed that 10 autoclave cycles made the masks slightly stiffer, there were no large differences in the sterilized masks compared to the products before sterilization.

They also used 3D modeling to see how the mask might fit on faces of all shapes and sizes, recruiting healthcare workers from Brigham for a small fit testing study. All 20 participants completed the process, with 60% saying they were willing to wear the iMASC system instead of a surgical mask and 20% saying they had no preference. Additionally, 25% said they preferred the iMASC system over an N95, while 60% had no preference.

Authors involved in the research acknowledged the limitations of the study, namely the small sample size of the fit testing, while large-scale production would require greater quality control of filter components.

“From the beginning, we were thinking about scalability,” Brigham department of radiation oncology resident & postdoctoral fellow in the Traverso lab Dr. James Byrne said.

“We selected materials recognized to be sterilizable and comfortable and a manufacturing process designed to be scaled.”