A high-tech respiratory device/mask which sterilises both inhaled and exhaled air, has been developed at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki.
It has been named the "VITER1 GR" from "Virus Terminator Greece".
The face mask is the result of the partnership between the Department of Medicine of the School of Health Sciences at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, headed by Professor of Orthopedics Panagiotis Givisis and the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, headed by Professor Christos Antonopoulos.
"I have watched from the beginning the efforts of the construction and operation of the respiratory device and I feel proud that it was created at Aristotle. Since last spring, our research community has focused its work on what has to do with the health crisis," Professor Nikos Papaioannou, Rector of Aristotle University of Thessaloniki told AMNA.
"This invention constitutes a global contribution of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki in the research part of dealing with the pandemic and therefore the Prime Minister and the competent health authorities were immediately informed," he added.
It is currently awaiting approval from the relevant services and is expected to be a game changer in the protection of healthcare workers in the country.
The device consists of a snorkeling type mask, with skin-friendly medical silicone material. The quality and purity of the inhaled and exhaled air is controlled by an activated carbon filtration.
The inhaled air (before entering the mask) is filtered with a special replacement activated carbon filter and then exposed to ultraviolet radiation through the attached system, killing the unwanted germs, viruses and other pathogens that are harmful.
Furthermore when leaving the device, the air passes through a special filter to retain the remains of dead germs and viruses.
