Purifas - Most Innovative Startup of the Year

Name of Organization / Company: Purifas™
Category: B01 - B11 - Award for Excellence in Corporate Innovation > B10A. Most Innovative Startup of the Year - Business Product Industries

Entry Title: Purifas™ FaceShield™ - The Future of Hygiene in Therapy Settings.

Approximately 452 people acquire a healthcare associated infection every day, primarily due to poor hygiene practices. This is the issue Purifas™ is on a mission to solve. Founded by Australian physiotherapist Ibrahim Samaan, the innovative company launched in October 2019 with a vision to re-define hygiene standards in therapy settings such as physiotherapy, massage and more.

There is a standards and guidelines deficit in this industry. Research has also shown the rate of hygiene compliance in healthcare settings to be as low as 30%. Thus, therapists require better products and hygiene information for client safety.

In therapy settings, it is common to see over 15 patients a day. As a result, maintaining impeccable hygiene can be difficult. Standard practice is to use cradle paper during prone (face down) treatment; however, this is ineffective. Paper fails to cover the face hole where patients directly place their pathogen entry pathways (eyes, nose, mouth). Paper also tears during use, and by the end of a session no longer covers the headrest.

Random swab testing of five therapy bed face holes from five clinics, revealed that consumers were at risk of illness from inadequate hygiene practices. One out of five tested positive for rhinovirus, and two out of five tested positive for the dangerous golden staph – one variant resistant to antibiotics.

The patent pending Purifas™ FaceShield™ is the first and only product worldwide to provide full face hole coverage and significantly reduce bacterial transmission during prone treatments. Innovative features include:

•Patent pending 3D design includes an internal skirt providing 100% face hole coverage
•Scientifically proven to reduce bacterial transmission by 86%
•Clinically proven to significantly reduce bacterial transfer
•Made from 2ply polypropylene for comfort and durability
•Sweat, saliva, makeup & water resistant
•Reduces laundry loads & water usage
•Heat stake stitching to ensure 100% recyclability
•Fits all massage tables
•Flat-packed in a dispensable box for easy pull & use

The FaceShield™ is backed by extensive scientific and clinical testing – something other cradle covers are not, and there is certainly no requirement to do so. However, evidence-based design is important to Purifas™. The FaceShield™ has been scientifically tested for bacterial filtration efficiency and found to filter 86.3% of bacteria during prone treatments. The research went even further. Given there is no International standard for cradle covers, Purifas™ decided to use the standard for surgical face masks - ASTM-F2101. Under this standard, the FaceShield™ was proven to reduce bacterial transfer by 40%.

Additionally, a clinical trial was conducted to see the difference in bacterial transfer from the client to the massage table, with and without use of the FaceShield™. Results revealed a significant reduction in bacterial transfer with use of the FaceShield™.

Marketing activities have been centred around elevating hygiene education and collaborating with therapists and consumers:

•Since June 2020, Purifas™ has run an educational social media campaign on infection risk and implementing best practice in therapy clinics. The campaign has been successful in educating over 80,000 therapy professionals and achieving a 300% return-on-investment.
•Purifas™ has developed a free clinic program for all FaceShield™ customers, empowering them to show-off their commitment to hygiene and help attract new hygiene conscious consumers. It involves clinic marketing support including free flyers, digital slides for in-clinic screens, social media content, an exclusive seal, and the opportunity to be listed on an online clinic finder.
•Hosted free webinars, educating therapists on infection risk and hygiene. CEO Ibrahim has presented to over 1000 therapists and shared his expertise on clinic best-practice.

The FaceShield™ has become a staple in over 10,000 clinics worldwide, protecting hundreds of thousands from the risk of infection. In under 14 months, the company has expanded to New Zealand, Hong Kong, Japan and the UK – with more locations to come.

Files & Links:

FaceShield_Research_Brochure .pdf
https://www.purifas.com/products/faceshield
https://www.purifas.com/pages/purifas-faceshield-research
https://www.purifas.com/pages/purifas-faceshield-clinic-program