MORGAN HILL, Calif., March 11, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Calumeo, a privately-held medical device company dedicated to protecting frontline health care professionals, announced today that Calumeo Clean, its point-of-care solution to process N95 masks for reuse, is now available in the U.S.
Calumeo Clean is designed to alleviate the estimated 3.5 million unit shortage of N95s caused by the COVID-19 crisis that is expected to persist, as health professionals demand safety.
Calumeo Clean, a compact device that easily fits on a countertop, uses dry heat to safely and effectively process N95 masks for reuse, without the use of toxic chemicals. With the simple push of a button, health care workers get their personal mask back in just over an hour and they can process it for use up to five times or an entire clinical week. The device, which processes up to six masks at a time, is ideal for physician offices, dental offices, surgery centers, allied health care services, clinics, nursing homes, urgent care centers and hospital settings.
“The pandemic has led to extreme circumstances where in some cases physicians are using the same masks for much longer periods of time and with multiple patients,” says Dr. Niki Panich, co-founder and CEO of Calumeo. “This deficit is likely to progress, as COVID-19 has changed the health care landscape. N95 masks are here to stay to protect health care workers from different strains and other potential diseases.”
The FDA has cleared dry heat-driven devices, including Calumeo Clean, to support the reuse of personal protective equipment (PPE) such as N95 respirators. N95s are considered the most reliable masks to protect health care workers against viruses but were intended only to be used once per clinician and per patient.
Currently, masks are shipped to an outside facility to be disinfected with hydrogen peroxide, a chemical-based solution, and returned to the health care facility. Physicians aren’t guaranteed to receive their own mask back, which can weaken the efficacy since they need to be fitted to an individual’s face, and the process often leaves behind the smell of hydrogen peroxide, which some find nauseating.
In addition to providing a safer experience, reusing masks properly can play a vital role in managing hospital waste, an ongoing issue. Hospitals in the U.S. produce an estimated 6 million tons of waste annually, a figure that has risen due to COVID-19.
About Calumeo
Calumeo is a privately-held medical device company dedicated to protecting frontline health care workers. The company was formed by a team of physicians, engineers and business school students who were teammates in a Stanford Biodesign Innovation course. Calumeo’s point-of-care device, Calumeo Clean, is manufactured by Phoenix Deventures and the startup has received support from Fogarty Innovation, Stanford University and Johns Hopkins University. For more information and to obtain Calumeo Clean, visit www.calumeo.com.
A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/9a9972d9-d341-47e7-bb63-261874e495ef