BARRIE -- Brothers John and Mathew Milkovich had one objective in mind when they decided to team up and create a respirator.
“Initially, our goal was just to make sure our parents were OK,” says Mathew.
With their dad being an anesthesiologist and their mom a nurse, the pair wanted to ensure their safety while working on the front lines during the pandemic with personal protective equipment running low.
The brothers say the stars aligned after seeing a doctor in Italy on TV.
“(He was) doing a similar concept with a snorkel mask, and we realized we had a very similar snorkel mask we got in Croatia,” says Mathew, “We knew how good its airtight seal was.”
And it just so happened that their neighbour Bob Richardson owned a 3D printer.
“He was printing, we were testing outfits, and we wanted to make sure it was as snug as possible,” says Mathew.
All materials sourced, including the snorkel mask, 3D printer and anesthesia filters, are readily available, according to John.
And if they start to run out, the brothers have a plan.
“If they do run out of that specific mask, we will be making different adaptors for different snorkelling masks so we can continue making them,” says Mathew.
The brothers have already received email requests for the respirators from hospitals in New York, California and Georgia
