#Could this silicone face mask by MIT researchers be better than N95?

As the states prepare for a possible “second wave” of the coronavirus, scientists are racing to fill the need for medical equipment and other novel tools to fight the virus. Durable and effective face masks top that list.

In the nick of time, MIT researchers have developed a silicone face mask that can be sterilized and reused up to 100 times. It’s made with two N95-grade breathing filters that can be removed and replaced after each use to be sure viral particles are being eliminated from the environment.

If implemented, hospitals would no longer be at the mercy of the highly sought after N95 respirator — much of the supply of which gets made overseas. Plus, the transparent material would improve communication between patients and staff.

“When the virus started popping up in the US, we . . . identified really early on that there was going to be a large deficit [of PPE],” James Young, a radiation oncologist who was part of MIT’s team of developers, told Fast Company.

“We really put our heads together to try to come up with something that was sustainable, and that’s how we really came up with this reusable, scalable, conformable, flexible mask,” he said.

They chose silicone rubber, a polymer with countless applications across several industries, including in construction, manufacturing, clothing and cookware. It’s durable against high temperatures — high enough to be able to sterilize in the oven, according to MIT’s experiments. The mask was also cleaned handily with rubbing alcohol, a bleach solution and even a steaming tool — none of which caused the silicone to degrade.

Researchers made sure to create a mask that could be produced quickly and at high volumes. Their product fits the bill because production of similar silicone-based masks are already underway, for some anesthesia masks, according to the team from MIT’s Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research.

In a trial of 20 health-care workers who test-ran the clear masks, about a quarter reported that they’d choose the pliable prototype over a traditional N95 mask if given the choice. Per their feedback, researchers have said they’ll reposition the filters to enhance visibility of the mouth — a boon especially to the hearing-impaired.

Ongoing environmental impact and cost-effectiveness studies have indicated that the masks could go for as low as $15, with the disposable filters at about $1 or less each.

The team is working to fast-track the product into production, and asking for an emergency use authorization from the Food and Drug Administration to allow both consumers and the health-care industry to access their masks as soon as possible.