Heroes of the Pandemic 02: Suvojit Ghosh - The chase to solve local mask shortages earns quick success

When the COVID-19 pandemic struck Canada, Suvojit Ghosh soon learned through his network that the Hamilton Health Sciences was running low on life-saving personal protective equipment.

Ghosh knew he could help.

“This was a key call to action and because all my team and I do is chase and fight fires, we knew we were best equipped to do something quickly,” said Ghosh, Co-founder and Managing Director, FyeLabs at McMaster University, a Hamilton company that offers fast-paced research and development services for companies.

Mobilizing diverse local expertise to solve the problem

In response, Ghosh launched the Masks@Mac initiative.

“This volunteer initiative immediately gained momentum which just shows you how powerful the Hamilton community is,” said Ghosh.

The Masks@Mac team first looked at who could produce masks locally with the necessary retooling. Based on the need from Hamilton Health Sciences, Ghosh and his team focused on producing face shields, level 3 procedural masks and N95 respirators.

A local supply of masks for Hamilton Health Sciences was quickly established through the collaboration of 100 McMaster-based experts, five manufacturing companies and three test services companies.

Building testing capacity regionally

When Ghosh started Masks@Mac, there was no testing capacity for these masks in Canada. In response to this gap, McMaster University chemical engineering professors developed their own tests: one for breathability (pressure drop) and the other for particle filtration efficiency.

Ghosh leveraged his network to find nearby test services companies that retooled their operations to implement the newly designed mask tests for quality assurance.

Responding rapidly to the community need

“Through this experience, we quickly learned the most critical need for masks right now is in the community,” explained Ghosh.

The team rapidly responded and launched Masks and More – an online, non-profit marketplace that allows local mask producers to sell their products to local community organizations (i.e. long-term care, pharmacies, grocery stores) and individuals.

“My team and I have this unique capability to act fast and chase a target really quickly,” said Ghosh. “That’s what we do for our day jobs so why not do it to help our community during the pandemic.”.