Purivy

Purivy brings a portable & effective UVC sanitation case that sanitizes face masks. Never wear a dirty face mask again! 

Naor Amir - CEO

With COVID-19 numbers steadily increasing in Europe and elsewhere across the globe, it is important for average citizens to continue having access to clean PPE. Face masks have been proven to reduce transmission of respiratory illnesses like Covid-19. A 2019 study of healthcare workers showed that various respiratory viruses can and do live on outside of such masks. Current CDC recommendations are to wash a face mask after every use, a standard the majority of people do not meet according to studies. According to 2020 YouGov poll, just 13% of people who wear washable face masks are washing them frequently enough, and in the right way to help prevent spread of illnesses. The rapid adoption of face masks necessitates the need for education on proper sanitation and creative new ideas on how to best help citizens ensure their safety and those of their loved ones. Additionally, the demand for disposable face masks and gloves have skyrocketed due to the global pandemic. Disposable face masks, which are typically made from polypropylene plastics, and are quickly filling up our oceans in an environmental disaster. We need to encourage citizens to adopt reusable PPE and help provide proven solutions for keeping them clean. 

Our intended audience includes all health conscious individuals and Green-product orientated consumers. Everyone who uses a face mask frequently will benefit from being able to sanitize on the move or in their vehicle before bringing in used face masks into their homes. The impact we hope to achieve is as follows:

1. To reduce the spread of the novel coronavirus as well as any future viruses/outbreaks by sanitizing contaminated PPE.
2. To reduce the environmental impact of single time use face masks by promoting a switch to a reusable face mask that can be sanitized quickly and easily. We also hope to reduce the impact of having to run multiple washing machine cycles to sanitize a family's masks after each use as recommended by the CDC.
3. To provide an easy and convenient method to sanitize face masks as well as other high use items such as cell phones, keys, etc. - fit for the new post Covid reality.

Two main public goods come from having a product like Purivy's in the hands of general society. One - people will be able to sanitize their masks more frequently - as per CDC guidelines - helping reduce overall transmission of Covid-19 as well as other viruses. Additionally, people will have access to a safe compartment whether within their vehicle, in their home, or in a bag where they can store contaminated face masks and other items without the fear or contaminating other surfaces (for instance throwing used face masks on car dashboard, a common sight during the pandemic). Another public good, is that by coupling our device with a UVC resistant face mask we can encourage citizens to swap the one time use, non biodegradable masks which eventually end up in landfills and in oceans, and adopt reusable masks that cause less damage to the environment. 

We have successfully graduated from the National Science Foundation's Innovation Corps (I-Corps) program where we conducted an excess of 100 interviews with target customers. Our data indicated a sincere deficit in the publics knowledge and habits when it comes to cleaning their face masks. Many reported washing their masks only once a week, and even then in low temperature water and detergent. Many reported never hearing about laundry sanitizer and expressed a desire to do less laundry. Many expressed a solution for effectively and quickly sanitizing their face masks, when presented with information about the need to wear clean masks.

Our impact will scale over the next year initially by exporting our mask sanitation device to more and more international countries. While vaccination campaigns continue in the US, Europe as well as other places across the globe continue to be badly impacted by continued spread of the virus. As new mutations continue to arise across the globe, we predict the possibility of new waves of cases will lead to increased awareness about proper mask sanitation - as well as sanitation of other devices. 

We are measuring success with the following metrics:

Sanitation Effectiveness - Time needed to inactivate certain bacteria and viruses

Lack of Dead Zones within our UV chamber - Independently verified by 3rd party

Ability to correctly fasten items, including face mask, within the device to avoid possibility of user misuse and improper UVC sanitation

Barriers include: 

Domestic / International manufacturing issues due to Covid-19.

Initial financial deposits to begin mass production of UVC mask sanitizer device.

Education challenge in educating the population about the importance of sanitizing your masks regularly. 

Increased vaccinations may ditching their masks prematurely. 

Meeting high manufacture/shipping demand across the world in the event of further waves of Covid-19 or future pandemics.

Florida Power & Light

Next Era Energy (Incubator Program Participant, 35 Mules)

We are looking for access to funding to help manufacture our solution as well as partners to help educate consumers about the need to sanitize PPE frequently. Through our interviews, we have noticed a large gap in the publics knowledge of the appropriate way, and rate, to sanitize their daily PPE. We would love to partner with organizations able to help spread awareness of this issue - as well as the environmental impact of disposable face masks and gloves. We would also love to supply our mask sanitizing units to businesses who's employees are required to wear masks for prolonged periods of time or in high social interaction positions. 

We would love to partner with the following partners, even if it is just to donate mask sanitizing units to poorer areas where PPE sanitation awareness is lacking or to help us independently verify the efficacy of our mask sanitizing product : Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, University of Cambridge, Global Virome Project, The Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, and Northeastern University.