Decades of research lead to a better solution.

With advancements in science and technology, who would have thought the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic could stricken the healthcare system and leave a shortage of N95 respirators? The spread of COVID-19 seemed to take the world by surprise. While the concept of a pandemic was new to the general public, researchers who developed ElastoMaskPro began investigating a solution to address a potential supply shortage more than 15 years ago. Our research for a pandemic protection solution involved close collaboration with government, industry, and academia. We led laboratory and outreach studies with frontline workers to understand their needs and preferences.

The idea for ElastoMaskPro was conceived following the H1N1 pandemic in 2009. We wanted to develop a respirator specifically designed for frontline workers and their environment. It had to be easy to use and breathe through, lightweight, simple to disinfect, reusable thousands of times, provide a large visual field, and have no exhalation valve.

It’s easy to conceive innovation, but the true challenge is making it reality. Bringing ElastoMaskPro to fruition required novel materials, tooling, and processes, along with expertise from government partners and industries around the world. ElastoMaskPro received approval from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) in January 2022. Having reached this milestone, Reusable Respirators, LLC, the manufacturer of ElastoMaskPro, began full-scale production to offer the highest quality respiratory protection available to frontline workers.