EnCata launches Reusable Respirators, Field hospitals & other products to fight COVID-19

The COVID-19 outbreak has thrown the World into a turmoil. We have stepped in a new era of global pandemics and economic downturn. We yet to discover its economic impact, as we have not seen anything similar since the Black Death plague in the XIV century when foundations of capitalism and professional craftsmanship and manufacturing were established, dismounting feudalism throughout the Western World.

As we all face this global crisis, we in EnCata are focused on what we do best: rapidly design, engineer, prototype and manufacture connected hardware products. Over the past weeks, EnCata design and manufacturing team has quickly adapted and shifted gears to developing and launching several anti-COVID products.

A few people know that 7 years ago EnCata was involved in engineering and production of PPE and air purification/filtration equipment (our BDC-AIR company), including a medical ventilator. In the past five years, EnCata learned what works best:

• cooperation and
• clear communication. 

The first is pretty universal for any business to flourish, while remote communication is becoming a new norm, which does not take us by surprise. With EnCata’s HQ operating in Eastern Europe we have always been relying on the latest online communication tools that surge.

Our objective is to quickly adapt and intensify collaboration between manufacturing, engineneeing companies and  governments to collaborate on engineering new healthcare and hardware-centric products that save lives and bring the world back to normal. We call engineering companies and manufacturers to collaborate and rely on our expertise and world-class rapid prototyping facilities in joint development programs. While continents are now logistically cut, we can - together - do more and leverage the engineering skills and manufacturing capacity globally. 

Here are some project that illustrate what we have achieved in the past 3 weeks:

Vizard Mask reusable respirator

The new type reusable respirator mask with special nano-cloth that binds and kills viruses (such as 500 nanometers COVID-19), bacteria and germs. 

This nano-fabric is made by chemical modification of a polymer fiber with bioactive reagents that create a complex of functional groups on the surface of the fibers that inactivate viruses and bacteria. After the inactivation of viruses or bacteria, the active domain zones of the material become not functional. The number of active functional groups is calculated with a 10-fold reserve for air purification with a content of more than 5000 CFU per 1 cubic meter, with continuous moderate use for 40 hours. This fabric is experimental, a user decides on its use. The nano-fabric, although, has been used for more than a decade in filtering and decontaminating air at cattle farms and it proved to be extremely effective air sanitizer and filter.

The concept of reusable respirator mask is appealing due to face masks and respirators shortage. And since COVID-19 does not survive high temperatures and Vizard Mask can be simply sterilized in hot water (above 70 deg. C / 160 deg Fahrenheit).

We designed and launched the product in production within 3 weeks

Field hospitals

We have realized that our inflatable dome office is perfectly suited to accommodate a mobile/field hospital and emergency situation offices. The construction can be erected within 5 hours and it can be installed on any solid ground or on concrete slabs. I.e. it can be assembled in the areas where a conventional building technology cannot be realized (e.g. fields, car parks).

With a wide range of hardware we designed in EnCata we supply the mobile shelter with life support systems, large HEPA filters, HVAC units and advanced IoT and Building Management Systems (BMS).

Hospital clean rooms for surgery, lab spaces, and office desks, cloakrooms, showers and decontamination facilities for personnel  can be easily added to the air hospital structure. 

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We call the hardware community to unite and encourage you to share your expertise, collaborate and together stand against the COVID crisis. 

UV-lamps

WE have quickly designed an UV lamp for use in offices and hospitals. The UV lamp uses a 257 nm UVC spectrum and can be used for continuous or intermittent sterilization. 

The UV lamp is equipped with a simple electronic timer control to switch on the lamp on a regular basis.

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Gate-0 - security body temperature scan system

A multifunction security gate scanning system for airports and public spaces. The Gate-0 system is designed to detect elevated human body temperatures with an IR camera. When a person walks into the gate, the IR camera scans the body temperature, while the person applies his/her ID card or passport to a scanner. The turn gate and camera scan data is shared with security personnel via a cloud-based mobile application.

The Gate-0 is perfectly suited for crowded places such as airports, shopping malls, railway stations, etc.)

Albo - desktop air ionizer

This is the product EnCata designed for AirZen startup last year. With the new COVID reality it’s main function - to ionize and filter air (with embedded HEPA filter) comes in a new light. Although the effect of air ionization has not been yet proven to kill COVID, this type of air treatment is very effective against other influenza-type viruses, bacteria and germs. 

The way air ionization works is by charging viruses and germs by negative charge, so they readily stick to other surfaces (including filters) and airborne particles. The negative ions distribute its surface around a virus and make their RNA surface chemistry less active (i.e. lower the probability of such ionized virus to survive and stick to a live human cell and deactivate it). 

Here is a good review from the University of Toronto, describing existing air purification technologies that can protect against COVID.

Other ideas developed in and about EnCata

Of course, there are other good methods to kill viruses in air, apart from UVC light and ionization.

For example, ozone one of the most powerful oxidizer and sanitizer known to us. It kills coronavirus within 0.5 seconds of contact. However, conventional ozone generators are as harmful to a human as to bacteria and viruses. For that, one has to catalytically decompose the ozone on the air outlet, before desinfected air leaves the device.

In EnCata we are in possession of a chemical technology that can fully decompose the generated ozone at loci, past the disinfection chamber of the device. This approach solves the issue of releasing harmful ozone into aroom.

If you want to partner up with EnCata, or you know someone who we can help with our anit-COVID products, please contact us.