Indian Startup Develops Face Mask That Kills Covid-19

How about a reusable mask that kills coronavirus, kills various bacteria, is breathable, keeps you cool, is environment friendly and is affordable? Yes, Thermaissance’s masks exactly offer these features and much more.

It strives to protect the wearer as well as our environment at a very affordable price. These fabrics are based on nanotechnology and are anti-viral, anti-bacterial, and anti-fungal.

Effectiveness against Covid-19 and other bacteria

Tested by a US-based ISO 17025 certified laboratory, a single layer of Thermaissance fabric have been proven to kill >93% coronavirus (human coronavirus) in less than 5 mins, and kill >99.99% in less than an hour. The testing was performed as per the actual ISO-approved standard for testing anti-viral activity (ISO 18184). Since the masks are made of 2-layer fabrics, the actual Covid-19 kill rate of masks in 5 mins is estimated to be much higher than 93%. The fabrics are also anti-bacterial and have been proven to kill over 99% of various bacteria including Staphylococcus and Klebsiella Pneumoniae.

The anti-bacterial effectiveness has already been proven to last for 60+ Industrial Washes (equivalent to 100+ machine washes/ 150+ gentle washes) as per NABL Accredited Labs in India. The MRP of the mask is between Rs. 300 to Rs. 500, making it really affordable. Additionally, being fabric-based, Thermaissance masks do not use any plastic-like melt blown, poly propylene or spunbond, and hence are very environmental friendly.

Thermaissance Masks vs N95 Masks

The existing N95 masks are tested to filter up to 95% of particulate matter with a 0.30 micrometers (300 nanometers) diameter. On the other hand, SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19, is in the size range of 0.06-0.14 microns (60-140 nanometers). There is not much documentary evidence to show that the existing N95 masks have been successful in filtering Covid-19 viruses, which are way smaller in size compared to the size of particulate matter which N95 masks are certified for. Thermaissance masks also have high breathability factor compared to commonly used N95 masks.

Moreover, since the viruses and bacteria are killed on the surface of the Thermaissance mask, the wearer stays protected against risk of contact transmission even while touching the surface of the mask.

Thermaissance Scrubs for Healthcare Professionals & Covid-19 warriors

During this Covid-19 pandemic, Thermaissance has also introduced Medical Scrubs for Healthcare Professionals using their special smart fabrics. In fact, popularly known as Protective Personal Clothing (PPC), several doctors in isolation units, emergency rooms, and outpatient departments are already using Thermaissance’s Medical Scrubs to provide them with protection against infections. They wear these Medical Scrubs beneath their PPE kits. Given that the fabrics has also been proven to be effective against coronavirus, Thermaissance’s Medical Scrubs is expected to be used by more and more healthcare professionals and Covid-19 warriors.

“We have been using Thermaissance’s scrubs since May. It has provided us with the much-needed protection against various bacteria, which is the common source of secondary infection during this pandemic. The smart fabrics used by Thermaissance are of excellent quality and comfortable to wear in the hospital environment for longer hours.”

• Dr. Rajesh Mehta, Surgeon, Lucknow

Thermaissance’s Other Products

Thermaissance has been one of the innovators in patient clothing. Clothing is worn throughout the treatment and forms an important part in patient experience and patient care. However, it has always been one of the most neglected area with little innovation. Thermaissance is already working on this issue and is supplying functional, protective, and comfortable clothing for various immunocompromised patients. They have specially designed medical suits for dialysis, orthopedic, physiotherapy, chemo, ICU, bedridden, and urine catheter patients. Most of these patients have three common complaints – secondary infections, feeling cold during treatments, and lack of comfortable clothing.

In fact, infections have been one of the leading cause of deaths among immunocompromised patients. Thermaissance’s anti-viral and anti-bacterial suits help to reduce the risk of infections among the patients. Their smart fabrics help to maintain body temperature during the treatments. They have also strategically placed zippers in their medical suits to ensure accessibility to port areas/treatment areas by doctors and healthcare staff, thus limiting the skin exposure of patients.

Thermaissance’s journey so far

Thermaissance was born in 2014 after Manish Raval (Founder & CEO) watched his dad routinely sit through dialysis and chemo treatment being cold and uncomfortable. At that time, Manish was working as a Biomedical Engineer with Siemens North America on futuristic medical devices. He realized the importance of textiles in hospital care and left his high-paying job at Siemens to research on technical textiles. After years of research, Thermaissance was launched in 2016 and has been revolutionizing the medical textiles industry through their smart fabrics. Smart fabrics help to maintain body temperature based on the external environment, thus it helps the wearer to remain cool in this tropical climate. They have filed 3 patents so far.

During its first year of launch, Thermaissance was selected as one of the winners of Economic Times Power of Ideas in 2016 (out of 18000+ ideas) and later incubated at IIM-A. The innovation then was recognized by the Government of India under its Startup India Program. Thermaissance was also awarded as Top 50 Innovative Healthcare companies in 2019 by International Forums on Advancement in Healthcare (IFAH).

BusinessWire India