Implementation of Powered Air-Purifying Respirator (PAPR) in the COVID-19 Pandemic Situation

Abstract

When the COVID-19 outbreak arrives in the beginning
of 2020, the shortage of PAPRs becomes a critical issue.
Many hospitals do not procure the PAPRs because there
is usually no need of using it. Demanding of the PAPRs is
soaring up urgently, however, the commercial availability
is in short.
PAPRs are needed to provide the protection safety
for the medical staffs. The paper proposed the principle
design concepts of a PAPR, however, with the pandemic
situation, many limitations have been imposed. The design
has to be simple but is able to accommodate the need of
being the personal protection. The design does not intend
to replace the commercially available products in the

market but must have all the basic features needed for the
protection. The limitations of the product are clearly stated.
Safety and reliability are the two critical parts in the
design. The necessary tests have also been proposed in
this paper. The testing does not only guarantee the quality
of the product, but it also creates the confidence for the
users.
This design has been implemented and tried by
medical staffs. At the time of publishing, 500 sets have
been distributed over Thailand where the PAPRs are in
need.