Deepak Pathania, a South Goa-based industrial designer from National Institute of Design (Ahmedabad), has designed a ‘Multi-Mask’ to enable complete protection against Covid-19.

Pathania who is the founder-director of Design Intervention (I) Pvt Ltd., claims that the mask is the world’s first modular mask.

Deepak has partnered with Shilpa Salgia and Kanishk Kharbanda to set up a new company called Med Interventions and Beyond Pvt Ltd., to produce the mask, and are being incubated at the Centre for Incubation & Business Acceleration, Goa (CIBA).

The design

The selling point of the mask is its removable shield according to the industrial designer.

The main selling point is the fact that it's the world's first mask with a removable shield. This is the only mask where the shield is part of the mask and yet you can just remove it. So you're not over putting the shield separately with straps,” Pathania told BusinessLine .

“What we realized is that the mask and the shield are very important for protection, especially in healthcare since the virus can actually be transmitted through the eyes as well. But at the same time, these have traditionally been two separate products. So we thought there was a very good opportunity there to come up with a new concept which makes both these into one synergetic product,” he said.

According to the designer, the Multi-Mask can be used by frontline workers including healthcare and security services, hospitality and retail staff, workers in industries with pollutants and by people fighting pollution in large cities.

The team had begun its work in the mask in March, after which the design had been through three major iterations. The final iteration was made in June where the team had decided to launch a mask that was transparent, unlike traditional masks.

“We realized that transparency is not just an aesthetic thing. It's a very useful thing because you can see the face identification and as well as for communication. It is much better,” said Pathania.

According to the company, the mask also reduces biowaste as all parts of the mask could be washed easily.

Production and launch

It can also be further customised later with fittings like an electronic filter, audio/video recording, in the future.

Presently, the Multi-Mask has been featured on the US-based crowdfunding site- Indiegogo.

The company has currently applied for a provisional patent after a worldwide patent search. The product is in the final prototype stage. The company is aiming to launch the masks as soon as November, post which it will also apply for approvals and certifications outside India to sell the masks globally, Pathania said.

The mask has garnered the interest of investors and hospitals prior to the launch. The company will be working with Indian manufacturers to produce the masks initially.

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