Pune : As the coronavirus epidemic created havoc in the country and the world, it has forced health experts, scientists and pharmaceutical companies to think anew. Masks played an important role in saving people from this infection to a great extent and during the epidemic it was proved that masks are helpful to a great extent in saving lives from deadly infection. Therefore, companies related to the health sector are now engaged in preparing more advanced types of masks, which can give better protection to the people. In this sequence, a Pune-based start-up company, Thinker Technologies India Pvt Ltd, has created a 3D printed mask. The company claims that this mask provides better protection than N-95, 3-ply and cloth masks. These masks are equipped with anti-infective technology commonly known as antivirals.
One of the initial projects of the Technology Development Board (TDB), a statutory body of the Government of India, is to commercialize disinfectant masks as part of the fight against the coronavirus. TDB also funded the project in May 2020 as part of a preventive measure against the coronavirus, following which an agreement was signed on 8 July 2020 to manufacture such masks. The company, made in 2016, claims that this mask provides better protection than other N-95, 3-ply and cloth masks.
The company’s founding director Dr. Sheetalkumar Zambad said that we started considering such technology in the early stages of the pandemic. We had come to the realization that masks would play an important role in protecting people from such infections. But together we also found that most of the masks that people have access to are not of good quality. Which forced us to make masks of better quality and better prices. These masks are equipped with antiviral technology that provides better protection to the person than other masks.
According to the company, better results were found during the testing of the antiviral coating done on the mask. It gave better results against SARS-COV-2. Sodium olefin sulfonate based material has been used for the coating of the mask.
These masks are reusable
According to the company, these masks can be used more than once and their filters have also been made using 3-D printing. Apart from this, the antibacterial ability of this mask is also more than 95% percent.
The company’s founding director Dr Zambad said that the company has applied for a patent for the 3-D masks and their production for the purpose of sale has also started. So far 6,000 such masks have been distributed by an NGO to four government hospitals in Nandurbar, Nashik and Bangalore.