Rick Avila, a local computer scientist, has utilized equipment at Tech Valley Center of Gravity for years. But his current project is an alternative to standard personal protective equipment (PPE).

“High levels of protection costs thousands of dollars,” said Avila, with Pandemic Virus Protection Systems.

That is what led Avila to recruit a number of former colleagues, friends and even his daughter Jennifer, to help develop a powered air purifying respirator (PAPR).

“The idea here is that you have a HEPA filter on top which blows basically filtered air through the entire face shield,” he said.

In November, tragedy struck Avila and his team of volunteer engineers. Bob Senzig, chief engineer on the project, contracted COVID-19 while in Mexico.

“I had Rick’s number on speed dial, seeing I was talking to him every day. I asked Rick, ‘get me out of Mexico, otherwise I’m going to die here,’ ” recalled Senzig.

Avila and others helped get Senzig back home, where he managed to recover several weeks later, but it’s an experience that produced even more motivation for the team.

“I saw firsthand what it was like for these professionals to work in sort of a hot environment,” said Senzig.

Meanwhile, Avila managed to secure some funding which helped land a prototype which consists of basic products, like a battery you’d find on a job site.

“Let’s say a patient who has COVID, doctors have to do some work on them,” Avila said. “They can throw this on very quickly, do the work they have to do, come out, take it off and basically disinfect it.”

The PAPR has garnered positive reviews from local health workers, and while the initial concerns surrounding PPE have diminished, Avila and his team are working to fine-tune their product.

“This kind of design would be sitting on the shelf ready to go,” he said. “Ready to be mass produced anywhere in the world.”