Taza Aya, a University of Michigan startup, has developed an air curtain technology that can attach to the brim of a hard hat and deflect 99.8% of aerosols from reaching a worker’s face. The technology potentially offers a new protection option for workers in industries where respiratory disease transmission is a concern.
Third-party testing confirmed the efficacy of the air curtain, which is curved to encircle the face and emitted from nozzles at the brim of the hat. However, for the air curtain to effectively safeguard against pathogens in the surrounding environment, it must first be cleansed of pathogens.
Previous research conducted by Herek Clack, co-founder of Taza Aya and associate professor of civil and environmental engineering at U-M, demonstrated that their approach can eliminate and deactivate 99% of airborne viruses in agricultural and laboratory environments.
“Our air curtain technology is precisely designed to protect wearers from airborne infectious pathogens, using treated air as a barrier in which any pathogens present have been inactivated so that they are no longer able to infect you if you breathe them in,” Clack said. “It’s virtually unheard of – our level of protection against airborne germs, especially when combined with the improved ergonomics it also provides.”
Sterilization has been a historical use of fire, and while it may not be commonly perceived in this manner, it is categorized as a thermal plasma. Nonthermal, or cold, plasmas consist of highly energetic, electrically charged molecules and molecular fragments that achieve a similar outcome without the presence of heat. These ions and molecules rapidly stabilize and transform into regular air before reaching the nozzle.
The prototype developed by Taza Aya includes a backpack that weighs around 10 pounds and contains the nonthermal plasma module, air handler, electronics, and the unit’s battery pack. The air handler pulls air into the module, where it undergoes treatment before being directed to the air curtain’s nozzle array.
Taza Aya’s advancements have occurred in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic and amid a summer in which the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have confirmed four cases of humans testing positive for bird flu. The agricultural sector experienced disruptions in meat production during the pandemic due to labor shortages, directly impacting prices, product availability, and the entire supply chain.
User experience testing has been carried out by Taza Aya in recent months with employees at Michigan Turkey Producers in Wyoming, Michigan, a processing facility known for its humane treatment of birds. The plant employs hundreds of workers, a significant number of whom have direct contact with turkeys as part of their daily tasks.
Up to now, the primary method of safeguarding workers in such large-scale agricultural operations has been the use of paper masks. However, in a noisy production environment where many employees have English as their second language, masks add an extra barrier to effective communication by muffling voices and concealing facial expressions.
“During COVID, it was a problem for many plants – the masks were needed, but they prevented good communication with our associates,” said Tina Conklin, Michigan Turkey’s vice president of technical services
Furthermore, a secure seal over the mouth and nose is crucial for masks to effectively filter out particles, and this seal can change throughout the workday. Safety goggles can get fogged up by masks, and workers have to take off their masks to eat. Taza Aya’s technology addresses all of these issues.
While at U-M, Clack spent years as a researcher investigating the application of nonthermal plasma for safeguarding livestock. When COVID-19 emerged in early 2020, he swiftly shifted his focus to how this technology could be utilized for personal protection against airborne pathogens.
Taza Aya received an award in the Invisible Shield QuickFire Challenge in October of the same year. The challenge was established by Johnson & Johnson Innovation in partnership with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to promote the creation of technologies that could safeguard individuals from airborne viruses with minimal disruption to their daily routines.
“We are pleased with the study results as we embark on this journey,” said Alberto Elli, Taza Aya’s CEO. “This real-world product and user testing experience will help us successfully launch the Worker Wearable in 2025.”
