KUALA LUMPUR – A team from University Malaya (UM) has introduced an invention that has the potential to help save millions of ringgit for new personal protective equipment (PPE) and reduce environmental damage brought about by disposed protective attire.
Dubbed the “hybrid mask steriliser”, the device resembling a microwave set allows surgical face masks and other single-use protective wear to be decontaminated and reused.
One of the key men who conceived it, architect David Mizan Hashim, says that he has no wish to make monetary gain from it.
The hybrid steriliser would also help to address shortage in PPE for frontliners and healthcare workers during the current Covid-19 pandemic, especially when N95 respirators or filtering facepiece respirators (FFP) are scarce.
Spearheading the project is Mohd Ridha Muhamad, a senior lecturer at UM's Department of Mechanical Engineering of the Engineering Faculty,who is aided by Mohd Sayuti Ab Karim, and Prof Victor Hoe.
The project was recognised with a gold medal at the 4th World Invention Academic Conference 2020 (WIAC2020) organised by Korea Invention News in late October.
It also received a Covid-19 special research grant for the development of decontamination methods to disinfect the commonly-used N95 respirators and standard medical face masks.
Mohd Ridha said a prototype for the pilot project, which is in the design and developmental phases, is expected to be available by the end of January.
In theory, the steriliser, which resembles a microwave oven, can decontaminate face masks from Covid-19 and other viruses in under one minute.
This is done with the combination of ultraviolet (UV) rays of light and a chemical solvent, which would sanitise face masks swiftly for reuse.
"While 3-ply face masks are generally affordable in our country, N95 face masks can get expensive as they are in high demand," he told The Vibes.
"This machine could also see widespread use in third world countries across Asia and Africa, where many medical practitioners tend to reuse their PPE."
Mohd Ridha also said there are currently other methods to sanitise face masks and other PPE with the use of UV light, but they require up to 20 minutes for decontamination.
The UM innovation combines UV light with effective chemicals that are harmless to humans such as diluted hydrogen peroxide or hypochlorous acid.
"Some doctors have expressed concerns that some individuals might be affected by the chemicals,” he said.
“So we are currently looking at the concentricity of the solvents to optimise the deactivation of the virus and disinfection capabilities of this hybrid method, while reducing risks to humans.
On the prize from Korea, Mohd Ridha said he did not expect the recognition as "it came as a surprise". He said it was also an encouragement for him to pursue the project.
Man behind idea has no financial interest
The invention is a brainchild of Malaysian architect David Mizan Hashim and his friend Sasha Dobrovolsky in the US.
David told The Vibes that the idea was hatched in March this year when the first wave of Covid-19 began raging in Asia.
He said that Dobrovolsky, an American entrepreneur and “tinkerer”, had discussed how such a machine could help hospitals struggling with urgent supplies of face masks.
He said face masks were immediately disposed of after a doctor, nurse or visitor had used them when meeting an infected patient.
"If the face masks were not thrown away, the people wearing them could transfer infections to other people. This made N95 masks or 3-ply masks unpractical at times, not to mention the costs and environmental issues involved," he said.
David said a patient could typically require up to thousands of face masks throughout his period of infection.
He said Dobrovolsky's suggestion was expensive to build in the US, and so he reached out to family friend Prof Adeeba Kamarulzaman who is the dean of the Faculty of Medicine at UM to kickstart the project in Malaysia.
Dobrovolsky asked David if he knew anyone in Malaysia who could take on the project and sent him some sketches,
“So I developed drawings on (Adobe software) AutoCad to manufacture the machine, and sourced UV lights from overseas," David said.
"Dr Adibah said the idea was fantastic and could put Malaysia on the world map."
David said he had no monetary interest in the machine despite the potential to be mass-produced around the world.
"For me it's open-source and something we have to do to help the human race," he said.
He added that he had spent less than RM10,000 to build a model upon conceptualising it.
Once commercialised, the steriliser would cost between RM1,000 to RM1,500 which is within the means of hospitals and other medical facilities in low-income countries.
"My hope is someone comes along to commercialise it with the help of UM to a point where it can be found in every hospital, airport, childcare centre and so on," he said. - The Vibes, November 18, 2020
