A special helmet to protect the wearer against adverse external effect in certain professional conditions has been created in Volgograd, in Russia’s Lower Volga region. The developers are scientists led by Prof. Alexander Vorobyov of the Volgograd State Medical University.
The helmet will soon be available on the market for an estimated $13.5 apiece, the Dozhd TV website reported.
The helmet development project kicked off in September 2019. According to original plans, it would benefit people with seasonal allergies to vegetal pollen. This past February, with the COVID-19 infection spreading like wildfire globally, the scientific team decided to upgrade the helmet to enable protection against airborne-droplet and direct contact viral infections, including the coronavirus one.
The helmet, designated “Venets-34”, is a 1.5 kilo headset equipped with an air purification filter and fan. Prof. Vorobyov claims the thing keeps off 98% of external dust, thus protecting the upper respiratory tract and the mouth, nose and eye mucosa.
The helmet can be further improved by installing inhalation, air moistening and UV radiation modules.
The scientists believe their product could be helpful to physicians, industrial workers, and agricultural workers susceptible to allergies.
Patenting is currently under way, and the team is reported to be in talks over serial production of the helmet.
This story initially appeared in Marchmont Innovation News, Russia’s daily business news website.