442 HelloMasks transparent surgical masks

Date: June 2020
Designed by: HMCARE, Empa & EPFL’s EssentialTech center
Credit: hmcare.ch


Medical professionals know that non-verbal communication is just as important as verbal communication to help ease patient anxiety. During the pandemic, opaque masks have made it difficult for such communication to take place, particularly for children, the hearing impaired, and the elderly. To solve this issue, Empa and EPFL’s EssentialTech centre have developed the HelloMask, marketed through the company HMCARE. The mask is fully transparent, allowing for a more personal exchange between medical professionals and patients, while also being breathable due to micro gaps knitted into the mask’s fibres that allow air molecules to pass through while blocking larger pathogens. Medically safe, the mask is also fully disposable and made from 99% biomass-based material, with the aim to become fully biodegradable.