Objective
- Respirators currently used in the healthcare industry were introduced from other industries and were not specifically designed for healthcare workers (HCW). A number of respirator characteristics may limit the HCW’s performance. This project , a collaborative effort between the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) and NPPTL, seeks to determine the ideal characteristics that would be required for a HCW-specific respirator with eventual prototype development/manufacture.
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- OSHA standard (29 CFR 1910.134) for respiratory protection.
- Healthcare workers (medical, dental, etc.)
- Emergency Medical Services (paramedics, firefighters, private ambulance crews)
- Respirator manufacturers
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Project Scope
- Phase 1 - Interagency Working Group formation/information
exchange
- Phase 2 - Prototype development
- Phase 3 - Prototype bench testing (NPPTL) and human field
trials (VHA)
- Phase 4 - Commercialization (approach manufacturers)
Milestones
- Q1 Provide feedback from Project Breathe working group meeting (8/6/08 – 8/7/08) notes
- Q2 Completion of white paper on ideal characteristics of a healthcare worker-specific respirator and submission to a peer-reviewed journal
- Q4 Solicitation of prototype healthcare worker-specific respirator development from respirator manufacturers, university engineering departments, etc., utilizing design features identified at working group meeting
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Outputs
- Manuscript (white paper) submitted to peer-reviewed journal.
- Presentations at national/international conferences.
- Development of new HCW-specific respirator that will meet NIOSH
certification criteria.
Outcomes
- The HCW-specific respirator should:
- increase compliance with OSHA regulations
- increase tolerance for extended wear (e.g., pandemic influenza)
- decrease respiratory exposure to infectious agents
- enhance HCW performance
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