Anti-virus, but also anti-bacterial and anti-pollution, here is how the mask of the French company Airxôm, unveiled this week at the famous CES, the high-tech show in Las Vegas, looks.
A product that this Lyon-based company specializing in the medical field, created in 2019, presents as the “first active respiratory protection mask”. In its brochure, Airxôm explains having manufactured a model capable of “filtering and destroying micro and nanoparticles, providing total protection against viruses (including that responsible for Covid-19) and bacteria and volatile organic compounds (NOX, nitrogen monoxide, toluene, benzene, etc.) ”.
At CES, the start-up also claims that its mask has a lifespan of around 4 years. But this product has a price: 300 euros, all the same, and it will be sold only in pharmacies from February 2022. A model which does not go unnoticed in the aisles of the high-tech show, since it is ‘proves to be more prominent than a surgeon’s mask as it is worn, for a weight of 130 grams, the equivalent of an average smartphone.
100,000 masks sold per year within five years
A size which is justified by its on-board technologies according to its designers: “Classic masks are not 100% waterproof, the air passes on the sides. Our mask is completely waterproof, and very comfortable, ”Trong Dai Nguyen, engineer at Airxôm told AFP.
The Airxôm thus integrates a photocatalytic filter combining optical fiber and titanium dioxide. It is activated by an LED emitting ultraviolet A, a technology already used in hospitals to decontaminate certain materials and objects, while a second active self-decontaminating non-woven polyethylene filter incorporates copper particles with “virucidal and bactericidal properties. “. Laboratory tests suggest that “SARS-CoV-2 viruses are destroyed at 99.94%, H1N1 at 99.99% and adenoviruses (99.94%)”.
It remains to be seen whether customers will respond favorably to this type of product. Airxôm aims to sell more than 100,000 of its masks per year in the world within five years and plans to recruit 150 people in the Lyon region.