Photo: Janis Laizan/Reuters
Mask wearing has become a huge part of our lives over the past year, masks prevent you spreading bacteria and viruses to other people through your breath, and they even make it less likely that you will contract any diseases yourself, including Covid-19.
While masks are highly effective, this Estonian firm has created a new mask, which kills over 99% of the viruses and bacteria you breath in, using UV light technology.
The air-purifier type mask, made by Estonian company Respiray, has already gone through extensive tests to show just how well it works, the company now hopes that it will be on the market for general purchase soon.
The technology using UV light was developed by the University of Tartu, in Estonia, and the University of Lodz, in Poland. UV light is known to kill bacteria and viruses and is already used in hospital and medical settings as part of decontamination procedures.
The device is made up of a box that is worn around the neck and is battery powered. As air goes through the intake, it is filtered for dust and other contaminants, it then goes through a UV-C LED module that kills viruses and bacteria. Finally, it enters the user's airstream.
Indrek Reimand, vice chancellor at the Estonian education ministry, said that while no one thing can eliminate Covid-19 every tool that we have available goes someway to defeating the pandemic. He said:
"There's no magic wand against the virus, but a number of endeavours in combination all contribute to the exit from the pandemic."
Liane Viru, head of the Biosafety Core Facility, at the University of Tartu, said that illness is almost always prevented by the mask because:
"The remaining diminutive concentration of virus particles is very unlikely to cause infection in the target organism."
Last year, former US President Donald Trump stated the virtues of UV light saying that if scientists could just get UV light into the body then it would clear-up the virus and save people's lives. During the same speech however, he seemed to also suggest that ingesting bleach could eliminate Covid-19.
[h/t: Reuters]
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