Many pathogens, such as severe acute respiratory coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and Mycobacterium tuberculosis, spread via aerosol transmission and inflict global public health and economic consequences. SARS-CoV-2 has infected over 450 million people, led to over 6 million fatalities, and caused major economic losses. The tuberculosis-causing bacterium and longstanding global health enemy, M. tuberculosis, led to an estimated 1.3 million deaths and over 5 billion USD in global spending in 2020 alone. Both of these pathogens, SARS-CoV-2 and M. tuberculosis, impose disproportionate burdens on healthcare workers, who are exposed to airborne pathogens at higher rates than the general population. The current respiratory protection options available to healthcare workers are generally limited to surgical masks and nonoil-95 percent collection (N95) filter-based respirators. N95s are the current gold standard, but these respirators can only properly function when a snug seal on the face of the user causes a pressure drop, which makes breathing more difficult and often leads to compliance issues. These respirators are also not designed to inactivate the pathogens they collect, and their disposable nature generates waste and leaves users susceptible to supply shortages. Thus, the widespread threats of airborne pathogens and the significant limitations of existing protection options necessitate the development of novel strategies to protect healthcare workers from airborne transmission of infectious diseases. Henley Ion's solution is a next-generation respirator based on a miniaturized form of an electrostatic precipitator (mEP). Henley Ion is the first to leverage the mEP strategy to remove aerosol particles in the context of personal respiratory protection. Rather than relying on a filter, this innovation allows Henley Ion to use mEP to capture and remove aerosol particles as the wearer breathes, needing only the natural velocity of normal breathing. In Aim 1, we will conduct benchtop testing to optimize device performance. We will demonstrate that the particle removal performance of our device matches or exceeds that of an N95 at a range of physiological respiration rates. In Aim 2, we will conduct biological testing to confirm optimized device performance that matches or exceeds the N95 for particle removal of SARS-CoV-2 and M. tuberculosis. We will measure particle removal at differential air flow rates and using discrete particle size distributions, and we will assess any residual viable pathogens in the device. Together, these steps will optimize the Henley mEP respirator and confirm its efficacy against both viral and bacterial pathogens, supporting the commercialization of this novel protective strategy to address the extreme need during the present pandemic and for infectious diseases more broadly.
Public Health Relevance Statement: PROJECT NARRATIVE Many infectious diseases, including COVID-19 and tuberculosis, are spread via airborne pathogens that lead to global economic and public health tolls with disproportionate impacts on healthcare workers. Current strategies to protect healthcare workers from airborne pathogens include surgical masks and N95s, but these options have significant limitations in their efficacy, availability, or ease-of-use. By miniaturizing an aerosol particle removal technology called electrostatic precipitation, Henley Ion will provide a comfortable, reusable next-generation respirator that can protect the wearer from airborne pathogens by removing aerosol particles as the wearer breathes.
Project Terms: Aerosols; Air; air flow; airflow; Air Movements; Breathing; Respiratory Aspiration; Respiratory Inspiration; inspiration; Bacteria; Biological Assay; Assay; Bioassay; Biologic Assays; capsule; Capsules; Charge; Communicable Diseases; Infectious Disease Pathway; Infectious Diseases; Infectious Disorder; Cessation of life; Death; Economics; economic; Electronics; electronic; electronic device; Electrons; Negative Beta Particle; Negatrons; Engineering; Equipment; Face; faces; facial; Filtration; Filtration Fractionation; Future; Goals; Health care facility; Health Facilities; Healthcare Facility; care facilities; Health Personnel; Health Care Providers; Healthcare Providers; Healthcare worker; health care personnel; health care worker; health provider; health workforce; healthcare personnel; medical personnel; treatment provider; Human; Modern Man; Ions; Laboratories; Masks; Medical Device; Methods; Microprocessor; Mycobacterium tuberculosis; M tb; M tuberculosis; M. tb; M. tuberculosis; mtb; Persons; Ozone; O3; Particle Size; Precipitation; precipitations; pressure; Production; Public Health; Research; Respiration; respiratory mechanism; Risk; Saline; Saline Solution; seal; Technology; Testing; Time; Tuberculosis; M tuberculosis infection; M. tb infection; M. tuberculosis infection; M.tb infection; M.tuberculosis infection; MTB infection; Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) infection; Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection; TB infection; disseminated TB; disseminated tuberculosis; infection due to Mycobacterium tuberculosis; tuberculosis infection; tuberculous spondyloarthropathy; Generations; Measures; improved; Penetration; Residual; Residual state; Phase; Physiologic; Physiological; Ensure; Susceptibility; Predisposition; wasting; communicable disease transmission; infectious disease transmission; disease transmission; Exposure to; Nature; Electrostatics; Hour; Stream; microorganism; System; Viral; respiratory; particle; Performance; voltage; particle counter; particle monitor; novel; General Population; General Public; Devices; Excision; Abscission; Extirpation; Removal; Surgical Removal; resection; response; miniaturize; miniaturized; Drops; Pathogenicity; Effectiveness; Address; global health; Biological Testing; Device or Instrument Development; device development; instrument development; Collection; Small Business Innovation Research Grant; SBIR; Small Business Innovation Research; transmission process; Transmission; Development; developmental; pandemic disease; pandemic; Health protection; designing; design; next generation; new approaches; novel approaches; novel strategy; novel strategies; pathogen; bacteria pathogen; bacterial pathogen; pathogenic bacteria; innovate; innovative; innovation; resistant; Resistance; prototype; commercialization; operations; operation; healthcare settings; health care settings; viral pathogen; virus pathogen; pathogenic virus; COVID19; CV-19; CV19; corona virus disease 2019; coronavirus disease 2019; coronavirus disease-19; coronavirus infectious disease-19; COVID-19; 2019 novel corona virus; 2019 novel coronavirus; COVID-19 virus; COVID19 virus; CoV-2; CoV2; SARS corona virus 2; SARS-CO-V2; SARS-COVID-2; SARS-CoV-2; SARS-CoV2; SARS-associated corona virus 2; SARS-associated coronavirus 2; SARS-coronavirus-2; SARS-related corona virus 2; SARS-related coronavirus 2; SARSCoV2; Severe Acute Respiratory Coronavirus 2; Severe Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome CoV 2; Severe Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome Corona Virus 2; Severe Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome Coronavirus 2; Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome CoV 2; Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome-associated coronavirus 2; Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome-related coronavirus 2; Severe acute respiratory syndrome associated corona virus 2; Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2; Severe acute respiratory syndrome related corona virus 2; Wuhan coronavirus; coronavirus disease 2019 virus; coronavirus disease-19 virus; hCoV19; nCoV2; 2019-nCoV; COVID crisis; 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