Practice "sewcial" distancing, put your craft to work.
DIY PAPR HOOD COVER AND AIR FILTER
OVERVIEW
PAPR (Powered Air-Purifying Respirator) systems are used by health care professionals to avoid breathing in germs in a hospital setting. It works by pumping ambient air through a bacterial and viral filter, through a tube attached to the back of the hood cover and out the air holes at the base of the visor. This creates a continuous flow of fresh, filtered air flowing down the face, pushing the ambient (potentially germ-filled) air away from the nose and mouth. PAPRs are typically only used for extremely contagious diseases such as TB and now COVID-19.
The innovative design provided here makes it possible for skilled sewists to make these devices in a home-factory setting. After you get familiar making the first unit, each additional unit takes about 1 hour to make.
If you'd prefer to buy PAPR hoods rather than sew your own, visit PAPRs4People.com.
DIY PAPR HOOD - MATERIALS NEEDED & SAFETY TESTING
As always, first connect with a healthcare system that has confirmed a need and approved this design. After you review these materials, if you decide to proceed with construction using this design, please email us to let us know.
These specs are for the:
3M BE-12 (formerly 522-02-00), designed to be used with the
Air-Mate HEP Air Filter Unit (part # 520-03-63) Filter ID #451-02-01.
SAFETY TESTING - University of Washington
An artisan PAPR hood connected to a 3M Versaflo PAPR blower underwent qualitative fit testing at a local hospital in early April 2020 and passed the test. The hood, connected to a 3M Breathe Easy PAPR blower subsequently underwent quantitative fit testing at an independent environmental safety testing laboratory and achieved fit factor scores in the 20,000 range. This is consistent with fit factors expected for commercial loose-fitting PAPR hoods using a positive pressure system. Based on these results, the hospital that performed the original qualitative fit test is working with us through their Supply Chain Team, and they are pursuing NIOSH certification for use of the artisan PAPR hood as per their internal standard.
