SIBOL Personal Protective Equipment - Design and Development of Locally-Manufactured, Reusable, Powered, Air-Purifying Respirator (PAPR)

With the need to prevent COVID-19 transmission among healthcare workers, the SIBOL Task Force Team of UP Manila is designing and developing an innovative powered, Air-Purifying Respirator or PAPR, an additional PPE for healthcare workers to reduce their risk of contracting COVID-19 while they care for the infected patients. In 2020, the project led by Dr. Samuel Arsenio M. Grozman of UP Manila first tested the prototype for particulate air filtration standard before it was subjected to visual and communication standards. Upon completion, the project will produce a total of 20 units of prototypes for manufacturing and project commercialization. PAPR uses a pump that moves contaminated air through a filter which removes particulates through mechanical and electrostatic mechanisms. Aside from developing a PAPR that will meet the standards set by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the project also aims to activate the supply chain towards the production and testing of PAPR in the country.