Editor's note: The following article appeared in the July 2010 print issue as a How to Do Anything Better Guide advertorial.
Respiratory protection in healthcare organizations is traditionally along two primary air-purifying technology paths, N95 mask respirators and powered air purifying respirators (PAPRs). Design origins of products of both types are mostly from military and industrial applications.
Significant events this decade affecting infection prevention as well as world economics are underlying motivation for a respirator to emerge that not only integrates the best features of both technology paths, but improves on them. We learned a great deal about our infection prevention preparedness from four of the most significant events in the past 10 years:
-- 9/11 and anthrax proved the reality of the terrorist threat.
-- The explosiveness of SARS provided a real-time demonstration of the pandemic and lethal potential of an aerosolized virus as it spread to every continent in just a few weeks
-- TB, MDR-TB and XDR-TB demonstrate we cannot become complacent regarding bacterial threats as they are smart, they regroup, and they come back to fight again and again.
-- Novel H1N1 influenza forces us to admit that our emergency and pandemic preparedness is good, but not good enough. We learned that many respirator advantages are outweighed by more significant disadvantages.
N95s provide lower protection due to filtration efficiency and poor fit, low user tolerance due to breathing resistance, heat and moisture build-up, and pressure points against the face, and high life-cycle cost due to need for stocking many types and sizes and the time and cost burden of annual fit-testing.
Conventional PAPRs are bulky and extend out from the user's body to interfere with maneuverability, they lack real-time indicators of safe operating air flow and battery charge levels, they are difficult and time-consuming to de-con, and they have high product cost and high life-cycle cost of disposables.
The MAXAIR 2000-700 from Bio-Medical Devices Intl. effectively improved all the negative characteristics of PAPRs in 2007. The 700's unique design roots are from the healthcare applications of Steri-Shield, beginning in 1989. The blower was miniaturized and integrated into a helmet, thereby eliminating the air-tube hose and allowing complete freedom of movement. Always visible in the peripheral vision safety, LEDs were incorporated for real-time indication of safe air-flow and battery charge condition. The elimination of extra connections and numerous uneven surfaces reduced de-con time for reusable parts from many minutes to seconds. The disposable costs were reduced four to six times lower than conventional PAPRs.
