Israeli Startup Sonovia Donates Antimicrobial Masks To Clinics, Police

Israeli startup Sonovia, the company developing novel technology for an anti-pathogen fabric, announced on Monday that healthcare facilities in the northern Israeli city of Nahariya were among the first to receive a shipment of hundreds of reusable antimicrobial facemasks treated with the company’s tech in recent weeks.

The company said that the Israel Police is also set to receive an unlimited supply of masks after the protective gear requirements set by the police were met.

Sonovia has also donated masks to essential workers at Shufersal, Israel’s largest supermarket chain, as well as to non-profit aid organization Latet to send to those who need them, the company said in a statement.

Sonovia announced last month that it would begin producing masks with the tech, and now says over 4,000 are being made daily.

The company’s Microbio R&D strategist Dr. Jason Migdal told NoCamels that numerous doctors and nurses in Israel have reached out to Sonovia and requested to obtain the masks. Some 1,000 Sonovia masks were sent to the University Carl Gustav Carus Hospital in Dresden, Germany, he said.

Sonovia’s tech consists of a novel, ultrasound-based, antimicrobial coating applied to fabric and textiles. The technology mechanically infuses metal oxides nanoparticles onto textiles during an ultrasonic-assisted impregnation process with the specialized chemical compound turning the textiles into highly effective blocks against bacteria and fungi, the company says.

Based in Ramat Gan, the patented technology that Sonovia aims to commercialize was originally developed as a bacteria-fighting nanoparticle finishing technology by Israeli scientists at Bar Ilan University.

In February, Sonovia sent samples of its fabric to two medical labs in China – the Shanghai branch of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and a medical lab in Chengdu and was awaiting results on whether its tech is effective against the virus. Dr. Migdal told NoCamels that additional fabric samples were sent to Singapore for testing in late February.

Sonovia was recently recognized as one of 5 Top Hospital Care Solutions For the Coronavirus Pandemic, by Startus Insights. The Austrian-based global analytics company specializing in early identification of emerging startups and technologies analyzed 125 startups and firms from around the world.