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Harvard e MIT criam protótipo de máscara hospitalar reutilizável 

Protótipo de máscara reutilizável desenvolvida pelo MIT e por Havard
Protótipo de máscara reutilizável desenvolvida pelo MIT e por Havard Divulgação MIT

Designers e cientistas Universidade de Harvard e do MIT (Instituto de Tecnologia de Massachusetts) desenvolveram um protótipo de máscara hospitalar que pode substituir o modelo N95, usado por profissionais da saúde na linha de frente da pandemia. 

As máscaras N95 são usadas amplamente por médicos e enfermeiros que estão em contato com paciente da covid-19 porque são feitas de fibras de polipropileno, material que filtra o ar inalado e evita a contaminação do usuário por partículas do novo coronavírus em suspensão. O problema é que após o uso é preciso descartar o item no lixo hospitalar após cada uso.

O equipamento de segurança que está sendo desenvolvido nos EUA é feito principalmente de silicone e há um compartimento para colocar filtros de polipropileno. Após o uso, os filtros são descartados, e o restante pode ser esterilizado e reutilizado. 

Leia também: Cientistas descobrem por acidente bactéria que come metal

“Com esse design, os filtros podem ser inseridos e descartados após o uso, e você está jogando muito menos material do que uma máscara N95”, diz Adam Wentworth, engenheiro de pesquisa do Hospital Brigham and Women e afiliado de pesquisa no Instituto Koch.

O MIT cita que muitos hospitais começaram a esterilizar as máscaras N95 com vapor de peróxido de hidrogênio, que pode ser usado até 20 vezes em uma única máscara, mas destaca que esse processo requer equipamentos específicos e que não estão disponíveis em todo os lugar. Além disso, cada máscara pode ser usada só por um dia após esse processo. 

A equipe do projeto agora está trabalhando em uma segunda versão da máscara, com base no feedback dos profissionais de saúde. O próximo passa é conseguir a aprovação das autoridades de saúde nos EUA para produzir o produto em escala.



Este texto foi publicado primeiro em http://noticias.r7.com/tecnologia-e-ciencia/harvard-e-mit-criam-prototipo-de-mascara-hospitalar-reutilizavel-24072020

Via RSS publicado em https://vitorolig.tumblr.com/post/624509093281923072

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