COVID19 - Medical mask relief effort San Diego
Donation protected
Hi all!
Welcome to the #5000MaskChallenge!
We are writing to you in hopes you will help us in the fight against the COVID19 virus sweeping our nation, and specifically to aid our healthcare heroes helping patients every day.
A small group of hopeful engineers in San Diego have been working hard to research and develop a solution to aid in the respirator and surgical mask shortage that is hitting our city, the country, and the world. Our goal is to manufacture and donate 5,000 alternative masks and we need your help!
Background
Medical professionals across the US and world are running low on medical supplies, especially the N95 respirators and surgical masks worn by doctors, nurses, and patients. Without this critical PPE, the vital healthcare workers are at high risk of contracting this deadly virus and possibly passing it along to others. Medical professionals, staff members, and many others around the community have been forced to reuse these "single-use" masks, make their own from common fabric, or may not have the access to anything at all.
An alternative mask has been designed that can be quickly assembled and provided to the local hospitals and community members in need. The design mimics the research and development efforts implemented by the University of Florida’s College of Medicine Department of Anesthesiology – see link below. They have developed two prototypes for alternative masks that can be produced in small or large quantities using materials already found in hospitals and medical facilities. This material is expensive but produces a higher-grade option in comparison to common cotton material.
We are bringing these techniques to San Diego!
The alternative mask design from the University of Florida utilizes polypropylene, which is the same material found in sterilization wraps used by hospitals every day.
“The makeshift mask uses Halyard H600 two-ply spun polypropylene that cannot be penetrated by water, bacteria, or particles. It blocks 99.9% of particulates, making the masks about 4% more effective at blocking particulate material than the N95 masks, according to Bruce Spiess, M.D., a professor of anesthesiology in the UF College of Medicine, who made that calculation based on the manufacturer’s specifications.”
With the current situation, it has been extremely hard to find hospitals that could collect this material or manufacturers able to donate as they are focused on supplying the larger companies. We have found a vendor here in the US that would sell the required sterilization wrap material (dual layered SMS Polypropylene 600 grade), so we have purchased the needed material needed to make roughly 5,000 masks!
We need your help!
We are reaching out in hopes that you could provide a monetary donation to help with the cost of materials to make these alternative masks.
Initial order costs of the polypropylene, other support materials to make the mask, and equipment to produce them is estimated to cost roughly $2,500.
Your donation will go directly to what is needed for material and equipment to get this done. If we receive more than this, we will either use the funds to buy more materials and produce more masks or use the additional funds for anything else they may need (face shields, gowns etc). Anything remaining at the end will be donated to another cause supporting COVID19 efforts.
Any donation, large or small, would be absolutely amazing and appreciated. We did not source any money besides current savings to pay for this. But this is truly not about the money, this is about helping the men and women on the front lines who need this the most!
Please help us make a difference in this time of need and be a sponsor in our #5000MaskChallenge!
We hope everyone is remaining safe, healthy, and indoors! Be thankful for all we have right now. So many people around the world and here in the US are less fortunate during this situation.
We will get through this together!
Project Status:
Polypropylene material is expected to arrive with the next 7-10 days and we will be on our way to making a small difference. We will keep everyone posted throughout this journey!
Follow the journey everyday on Instagram and Facebook:
#5000MaskChallenge
@AP_Nist
@Kevin_gems
Source:
University of Florida Department of Anesthesiology
https://anest.ufl.edu/clinical-divisions/alternative-n95-mask-production/#prototype2
Welcome to the #5000MaskChallenge!
We are writing to you in hopes you will help us in the fight against the COVID19 virus sweeping our nation, and specifically to aid our healthcare heroes helping patients every day.
A small group of hopeful engineers in San Diego have been working hard to research and develop a solution to aid in the respirator and surgical mask shortage that is hitting our city, the country, and the world. Our goal is to manufacture and donate 5,000 alternative masks and we need your help!
Background
Medical professionals across the US and world are running low on medical supplies, especially the N95 respirators and surgical masks worn by doctors, nurses, and patients. Without this critical PPE, the vital healthcare workers are at high risk of contracting this deadly virus and possibly passing it along to others. Medical professionals, staff members, and many others around the community have been forced to reuse these "single-use" masks, make their own from common fabric, or may not have the access to anything at all.
An alternative mask has been designed that can be quickly assembled and provided to the local hospitals and community members in need. The design mimics the research and development efforts implemented by the University of Florida’s College of Medicine Department of Anesthesiology – see link below. They have developed two prototypes for alternative masks that can be produced in small or large quantities using materials already found in hospitals and medical facilities. This material is expensive but produces a higher-grade option in comparison to common cotton material.
We are bringing these techniques to San Diego!
The alternative mask design from the University of Florida utilizes polypropylene, which is the same material found in sterilization wraps used by hospitals every day.
“The makeshift mask uses Halyard H600 two-ply spun polypropylene that cannot be penetrated by water, bacteria, or particles. It blocks 99.9% of particulates, making the masks about 4% more effective at blocking particulate material than the N95 masks, according to Bruce Spiess, M.D., a professor of anesthesiology in the UF College of Medicine, who made that calculation based on the manufacturer’s specifications.”
With the current situation, it has been extremely hard to find hospitals that could collect this material or manufacturers able to donate as they are focused on supplying the larger companies. We have found a vendor here in the US that would sell the required sterilization wrap material (dual layered SMS Polypropylene 600 grade), so we have purchased the needed material needed to make roughly 5,000 masks!
We need your help!
We are reaching out in hopes that you could provide a monetary donation to help with the cost of materials to make these alternative masks.
Initial order costs of the polypropylene, other support materials to make the mask, and equipment to produce them is estimated to cost roughly $2,500.
Your donation will go directly to what is needed for material and equipment to get this done. If we receive more than this, we will either use the funds to buy more materials and produce more masks or use the additional funds for anything else they may need (face shields, gowns etc). Anything remaining at the end will be donated to another cause supporting COVID19 efforts.
Any donation, large or small, would be absolutely amazing and appreciated. We did not source any money besides current savings to pay for this. But this is truly not about the money, this is about helping the men and women on the front lines who need this the most!
Please help us make a difference in this time of need and be a sponsor in our #5000MaskChallenge!
We hope everyone is remaining safe, healthy, and indoors! Be thankful for all we have right now. So many people around the world and here in the US are less fortunate during this situation.
We will get through this together!
Project Status:
Polypropylene material is expected to arrive with the next 7-10 days and we will be on our way to making a small difference. We will keep everyone posted throughout this journey!
Follow the journey everyday on Instagram and Facebook:
#5000MaskChallenge
@AP_Nist
@Kevin_gems
Source:
University of Florida Department of Anesthesiology
https://anest.ufl.edu/clinical-divisions/alternative-n95-mask-production/#prototype2
Co-organizers (2)
Oliver Paul
Organizer
San Diego, CA
Kevin Gemmell
Co-organizer