A Quick, Effective Solution to Protect COVID Medical Staff

Technion Eyal Zussman of the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering has developed a sticker for surgical masks that could improve safety for health care workers in dire need of effective personal protective equipment. It may look simple, but the sticker contains sophisticated technology to combat COVID-19.

While existing masks worn to treat COVID-19 patients provide a first line of defense, tiny droplets carrying the highly contagious virus can still get through and infect the medical staff.

Dubbed “Maya,” the new protective sticker is manufactured using a 3D printer and covers the outside of ordinary surgical masks. The sticker contains a nanofiber-based filter and biocidal agent that kills the virus on contact. Not only does the sticker keep health care workers safe, but patients wearing the mask and sticker are less infectious.

The sticker was developed in collaboration with Israel’s Ministry of Defense and the Galilee Medical Center, where it is being tested in a pilot project.

This is an available and fast solution based on sophisticated technology. We hope that the pilot project will succeed and that this unique innovation will be introduced to many other hospitals around the country.

Professor Samer Srouji, director of oral surgery at the Galilee Medical Center