“World’s Most Affordable Respiratory Mask” Launched By IIT-Hyderabad’s Startup
26, August, 2020
On Tuesday, the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Hyderabad announced the launch of a US9 “respiratory mask”. It is said to be better than the N-95 mask in terms of protection and costs around 13 rupees per day.
The homegrown innovation by the USafe healthcare, a latest start-up from the Center for Healthcare entrepreneurship , IIT Hyderabad, the firm has stated to have developed and commercialized the world’s most affordable and durable respiratory mask adhering to the highest safety standards for operating in hazardous environments.
USafe’s US9 Respirator Mask has 98.03% PM0.3 filtration rate and 99.7% bacterial filtration rate, considered to be better than N95 standards aims to provide high-quality protection, especially in the healthcare industry and its frontline workers. The mask is designed with a silicon seal, which has been reinforced by the tests carried out at IIT Hyderabad using infra-red camera. The makers said that the filtration for the cartridges in the respirator has been certified by the South India Textile Research Association (SITRA), an agency to particulate and bacterial filtration testing in India.
Jayesh Ranjan, the principal secretary, Telangana, who launched the product, said that the innovation of re-usability in US9 respiratory mask not only will reduce the cost but will also contribute in reduction of the bio-waste caused by the use of protective masks. The respirator masks are available Pan India costing around Rs 399 for a pack of 30.
