Title: COVID-19 Temperature Regulating PPE that Prevents Sweat Accumulation for Cal Athletic Trainers

Team: Tanin Barzanian, Ethan Chung, James Lo, Caroline Chen

Client: Sports Medicine – Lindsay Huston, MD & Ryan Cobb (UC Berkeley)

Amidst the coronavirus pandemic, college athletic programs across the country face significant revenue hits and heavy PPE equipment shortages that hinder their ability to keep their student athletes and staff safe and comfortable. Cal Athletics is no exception. To preserve the already low supply of PPE, trainers schedule as many indoor patient sessions in a tight sequence to reach their quota of patients for the day as quickly as they can. Due to this high-intensity schedule, trainers are susceptible to sweat accumulation within their masks. This sweat-buildup during their patient check-ups increases the moisture around the face and leads to discomfort among athletic trainers, resulting in greater likelihood of taking off the mask indoors (increasing their risk for COVID-19 exposure).

Our unmet need focuses on devising an improved means to decrease the formation of swear within masks so that athletic trainers don’t have to remove their PPE and risk exposure during patient sessions.