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UV-mask

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Last edited by Erik van der Bij
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Project description

Update September 2020:
Unfortunately no new UV-protecting mask has been designed in the course of this project. However it has spun off a development project for a low-cost UV meter. This meter called LUVI has been successfully tested by users and a series of devices has been produced and is now in use by children afflicted by XP.
See the LUVI project.

UV-mask is a UV-mask meant for people with a highly sensitive skin. It features 100% protection from UV and has an integrated fan. The full design (electronics, mechanics and software) is available under free licenses and the design is exclusively made with free tools.

The project started with ThePort hackathon 2015 to help to children suffering from Xeroderma pigmentosum (XP), a genetic disorder that causes extreme sensitivity to ultraviolet light. Special equipment has been developed to protect them from UV exposure and is in use since 2014 but it still has some issues with acoustics, temperature control and durability. The association THE Port started this project to help the children afflicted by the disorder and their families.

The aim of this project is to create a mask with several improvements:

  1. a more effective ventilation system to reduce the amount of steam that forms on the screen of the mask, especially in winter, and to improve wearer comfort in warm temperatures,
  2. a more ergonomic visor design with better acoustic properties to avoid reflection of the wearer's voice,
  3. different sizes of mask, i.e. one size for children and another for adults and teenagers,
  4. a technical material for the hood,
  5. a battery system indicating the run-time of the ventilation system,
  6. improved communications possibilities.


Work on the mask in October 2015 (click picture to enlarge)

Specifications

  • Electronics
    • Sensors
      • Humidity
      • Temperature
    • I/O
      • Fan (xx m3/h)
      • Switches (fan on/off, manual/automatic)
    • Various
      • 500 mAh Lithium-ion battery, fuel gauge?
    • Based on Raspberry Pi
      • Additional electronics developed with open KiCad design tool for schematics and PCB
  • Mechanics
    • 3D-printed skeleton
    • Developed with open FreeCAD design tool
  • Tissue
    • Medically approved UV-blocking tissue
  • Software
    • Developed with open gcc compiler

Project documents

Related projects

Team

Status

Date Event
02-10-2015 Start at ThePort hackathon, first prototypes shown
25-10-2015 First wiki page
17-11-2015 Meeting. Decided to focus on checking out cost effective UV meters.
08-12-2015 Meeting. New design sketches for next mask prototype. Discussion about UV meters. Minutes
09-02-2016 Meeting. Contacts with a company about making a dedicated UV-meter advancing. Minutes
09-03-2016 Company is testing new UV detector component.
21-04-2016 Company actively testing new UV detector component. Student will work on studying methods of mask cooling.
23-05-2016 Company reached resolution of 0.001 MED/hr on low priced meter: 100 times better than before.
Still we'd like to see 10 times better.
24-05-2016 Meeting discussing progress. Minutes
21-06-2016 Prototype UV meter can be shipped from US.
Ready in time for "Camp Eté 2016 à Lamoura".
15-07-2016 Prototype UV meter received. Reading in 0.001 MED/hr.
Readout unfortunately not stable and a completely new design should be made.
07-11-2016 Progress on new prototype UV meter. Internal precision even 0.0001 MED/hr.
Will have blinking UV symbol when UV light is present.
24-04-2017 New prototype UV meter still under development.
02-10-2017 Two prototypes functioning. Waiting for sticker design before can be tested by "Enfants de la lune".
15 other meters will be built.
14-11-2017 Two prototypes functioning and show a very stable read-out. Will be shipped before 23 November 2017.
10-01-2018 Last minute design change made readout less stable. Issue being investigated before devices will be shipped
29-01-2018 Prototype received. UVA/UVB annunciator disengaged. Unfortunately does not comply to the specification.
03-06-2019 Prototype of a new meter design, called LUVI being built using sensors with different UV-sensitivity curves.
01-08-2020 No new UV-protecting mask has been designed in the course of this project.
The LUVI meter has been successfully tested by users and it has been decided to build a series. See the LUVI project.

9 January 2022