There is provided a method of controlling a powered air purifying respirator blower system to deliver a substantially uniform volumetric airflow to a user, the system comprising a fan powered by a variable speed electric motor, the motor is controlled by an electronic control unit for delivering a forced flow of air through at least one filter to a user, comprising the steps of: (a) monitoring system loading; and (b) decreasing a speed of the electric motor when system loading reaches a predetermined value. There is also provided an air purifying respirator blower system using such a method.

A system including a head-mounted device having a face shield; a respirator coupled to or embodied in the head mounted device; a light having a light intensity; a light detector, and a computing device communicatively coupled to the at least one light detector that receive from the light detector data indicting a type and intensity of light, and determine that the light matches a particular type of light and whether it exceeds a threshold, and on the basis of this determination, modifies the intensity of the light.

The invention relates to a modular, portable, air purifier device capable of supplying filtered or otherwise conditioned airflow to an individual. More specifically, the present invention provides an air purification system that allows for the remote detection and analysis of local ambient air quality and transmit that information to wirelessly connected devices.

A gas sensor includes a chemiresistor having responsive to a specific gas vapor to be sensed such that a resistance of the chemiresistor changes responsive to exposure to the specific gas vapor. A data collection circuit is coupled to the chemiresistor to sense the change in resistance responsive to the specific gas vapor. An antenna is coupled to the data collection circuit to receive power from an RF interrogation signal, power the data collection circuit with the received power, and transmit a signal from the data collection circuit representative of the resistance of the chemiresistor.

A system includes a negative pressure reusable respirator configured to be worn by a worker and to cover at least a mouth and a nose of the worker, a sensor configured to generate sensor data indicative of a characteristic of air within a work environment, and at least one computing device. The negative pressure reusable respirator includes at least one contaminant capture device configured to remove contaminants from air as the air is drawn through the contaminant capture device when the worker inhales. The at least one contaminant capture device is configured to be removable from the negative pressure reusable respirator. The at least one computing device configured to determine whether the at least one contaminant capture device is due for replacement, and perform one or more actions in response to determining the at least one contaminant capture device is due for replacement.

A kit includes at least one facemask configured to cover a respective user's mouth and nose. The facemask contains at least one layer impregnated with a first chemical. When the facemask covers the respective user's mouth and nose, airborne particles of the first chemical are released from the at least one layer through the user's breathing. A sensor is configured to measure airborne concentration of the first chemical. A processing circuitry is configured to receive outputs of the sensor, to calculate a change in airborne concentration of the first chemical, and to issue a notification when the airborne concentration of the first chemical increases at above a predetermined rate.

A smart mask includes a face covering, an attachment member, one or more sensors, and a controller. The face covering is configured to cover a face area of a wearer. The attachment member is configured to attach the face covering onto the face area of the wearer. The one or more sensors comprises an air quality sensor configured to obtain first data associated with nearby air quality or a breathing pattern sensor configured to obtain second data associated with the wearer's breathing pattern. The controller is configured to process the first data associated with nearby air quality to identify a current air quality, or process the second data obtained by the breathing pattern. In response to determining that the current air quality is worse than a predetermined threshold, or identifying a particular breathing pattern, the controller is configured to generate a notification, notifying the wearer.

A method of treating a spinal disk according to the present invention can include inserting an alloplastic bulking agent into the spinal disk to treat the defect. The alloplastic bulking agent has a plurality of microparticles and a suspending agent comprising hyaluronic acid. The bulking agent results in at least one of sealing the defect, increasing a pressure of the disk, increasing a height of the disk, improving stability of the disk and improving structural integrity of the disk.

A breathing system includes a facepiece and a regulator to deliver breathing gas to the facepiece. The regulator includes a sensor system including at least one sensor responsive to respiration of a user. The breathing system further includes a processor system in operative connection with the at least one sensor, a memory system in operative connection with the processor system and at least one algorithm stored in the memory system and executable by the processor system. The at least one algorithm is adapted, configured or programmed to determine at least one of a rate of respiration and a respiration volume from data from the at least one sensor. The algorithm is further adapted, configured or programmed to relate at least one of the rate of respiration and the respiration volume to a physiological state of the user.

A packaged filtration mask comprising a filtration mask packaged in a container in a vacuum or a partial vacuum, wherein the packaged filtration mask comprises an indicator configured to indicate the presence of a vacuum or a partial vacuum in the container, or configured to indicate the lack of a vacuum or a partial vacuum in the container.