Dermatologist turns sterilized wraps into face masks with high filter efficiency

Dermatologist turns sterilized wraps into face masks with high filter efficiency

A third-year resident in the department of dermatology at the University of California, Irvine (UCI) has kicked off a passion project turning discarded sterilization wrap into face masks that, initially, will be used by much of the clinical and non-clinical staff at UCI with the hope of reserving the N95 masks for protection during aerosolized procedures and with patients who have tested positive for COVID-19. Aditi Sharma, M.D., who says her passion lies at the intersection of medicine, innovation and public health, identified the potential of surgical wrap material in the development of masks, tested the material, compared materials and now has masks in development – all within a month.