Taza Aya protects against airborne germs differently.

High quality, well-fitting face masks are known as respirators.  They were created to  protect persons from breathing in particles in dusty environments by filtering them out.  However, airborne germs have some important differences:

• Germs - particularly viruses - are often smaller than dust particles.  For particles that small, breathing through a filter sacrifices comfort for protection.
• Germs - particularly viruses - do not remain infectious in air forever. In an article published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Oswin et al. showed that that after 20 minutes in air, about 90% of SARS-CoV-2 aerosols are no longer infectious, with a large proportion of the decrease occurring in the first 5 minutes.  

The longer it takes for an airborne virus to be carried by the air to an indoor air purifier or HVAC filter, the less infectious the virus will be once it gets there. If an airborne virus is no longer infectious by the time it gets filtered from the air, exactly how much protection is being provided by filtering the air?

Germs are a different kind of air pollutant. Protecting against them should involve a different kind of approach. 

Taza Aya combines two technologies to keep infectious viruses from entering your breathing zone.

First, we focus protection around the breathing zone, the area roughly 10 inches around your face. We block potentially infectious airborne viruses from entering your breathing zone by maintaining an air curtain around your face.  An array of nozzles that attaches to existing protective head gear dispenses an arc of air downward in front of the face, from ear to ear.  Any potentially infectious airborne airborne viruses present in your surroundings are entrained in and carried away by the air curtain.

Second, the air curtain is supplied with air treated by our non-thermal plasma (NTP) modules.  Our NTP modules draw in and treat ambient air, neutralizing or removing pathogens that may be present, before sending the air to the array of nozzles to form the air curtain.

Learn more about our non-thermal plasma module

In this way, you can breathe easily and remain protected while:

• more comfortably working collaboratively and/or in close proximity to others 
• more comfortably facing the public in hospitality and service jobs
• more comfortably teaching children in classrooms 
• speaking normally and having your speech clearly understood
• using facial expressions to communicate non-verbally
• seeing clearly through glasses or goggles that do not fog up

Lastly, besides the obvious function of respiratory protection, there are  psychological and social benefits for those who may be reluctant, still, to venture out into public spaces and crowds.

Taza Aya is developing products for two applications:

• worker wearable protection
• individual wearable protection

Taza Aya is developing a worker wearable protection device for occupations that require in-person work that is collaborative, close-contact, and/or face-to-face.  The worker wearable protection device establishes a protective air curtain around the user’s face through an attachable nozzle array designed to integrate onto the worker’s existing head protection.  In this way, the worker wearable protection device:

• promotes clear verbal and non-verbal communication between workers
• eliminates fogging of prescription lenses and safety goggles
• continues to provide protection while eating or drinking
• easily integrates into existing site-specific safety protocols

Anticipated release date:  December, 2024

Currently in development at Taza Aya is the individual wearable protection device (conceptual rendering below).  Individuals will be able to remain protected without diminishing their quality of life, such as:

• going out to eat or drink socially
• exercising at the gym
• sharing facial expressions

Anticipated release date:  2025