(Image courtesy of Calumeo)
Calumeo today announced the U.S. launch of a point-of-care N95 mask reprocessing device.
The Morgan Hill-Calif.-based company said its Calumeo Clean countertop device uses dry heat to decontaminate N95 masks for reuse, without the use of toxic chemicals. The process takes just over an hour. The device can process six masks at a time and each mask can be processed this way up to five times, the company added.
The FDA has cleared dry heat-driven devices, including Calumeo Clean, to support the reuse of personal protective equipment (PPE) such as N95 respirators. N95s are considered the most reliable masks to protect health care workers against viruses but were intended only to be used once per clinician and per patient.
“The pandemic has led to extreme circumstances where in some cases, physicians are using the same masks for much longer periods of time and with multiple patients,” said Calumeo CEO Dr. Niki Panich in a news release. “This deficit is likely to progress, as COVID-19 has changed the health care landscape. N95 masks are here to stay to protect health care workers from different strains and other potential diseases.”
