At Gill Lab, we provide a new way to breathe.

Gill™ Mask is the first product developed under Gill™ Lab, founded in Singapore by partners Jean-Luc Fringeli, Veronica Chew, Cheong Siah Chong, Lim Eng Seng and Ken S.K. Chuang.

Gill™ Mask was the unexpected brainchild of engineering design firm Mdesign Solutions and industrial design firm TITO Associati. In August 2019, the Mdesign Solutions and TITO collaborated on a project to design snorkelling masks. Their resulting familiarity with facial contour features, user comfort and enhanced fit would later lead to the innovative design of Gill™ Mask.

During the COVID-19 surgical mask shortage in early 2020, medical suppliers were rushing to find or produce more surgical masks.  The Gill™ team decided to tackle the problem from a different angle to reduce surgical mask consumption and offer a more protective seal.  Inspired by snorkelling masks and the ability to breathe under water, the team used their expertise in designing medical devices and user experience to develop a safe, comfortable and sustainable respirator suitable for both professionals and the public.

Introduced in April 2020 as a safe, soft and sustainable solution, our respirator is now used by frontline workers and conscious consumers in Singapore and around the world.  

Gill™ Mask was the unexpected brainchild of engineering design firm Mdesign Solutions and industrial design firm TITO Associati.

In August 2019, Mdesign Solutions and TITO came together to collaborate on a project to design snorkeling masks. Their resulting familiarity with facial contour features, user comfort and enhanced fit would later lead to the innovative design of Gill™ Mask.

In mid-February 2020, COVID-19 hit the shores of Singapore and the nation was faced with a growing shortage of protective wear. Whilst medical suppliers rushed to source and produce more surgical masks, Mdesign thought to tackle the problem from a different angle by reducing surgical mask consumption and offering a more protective seal.  Inspired by snorkeling masks and the ability to breathe underwater, Gill Lab and its first product Gill™ Mask were born.

Jean-Luc Fringeli

Head of Product and Operations, Gill™ Lab

Director, Mdesign Solutions

As the Director of engineering design firm MDesign Solutions, Jean-Luc led the development and production of Gill™ Mask. Passionate about creating products with purpose and value, he led the early iteration of the mask and design of the adaptable filters. Jean-Luc manages the team and oversees product development at Gill Lab.  He looks to drive future innovation for Gill Lab through a strong B2B focus.  With 10 years of experience in product development and market introduction, Jean-Luc’s impressive career spans businesses in Europe, US and Asia. Notably, he has managed multi-million-dollar projects for numerous leading consumer-goods companies, including Johnson & Johnson and Philip Morris International. He graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering and an MBA in Entrepreneurship.

Veronica Chew     

Head of Sales and Marketing, Gill™ Lab

Veronica has close to 20 years of experience in med tech, diagnostics, digital health and pharmaceutical distribution across multi-national companies and startups.  She is passionate about creating innovative and sustainable solutions to improve access to health, especially in emerging markets. Veronica has an in-depth knowledge of business operations and supply chain, building and scaling startups, new product development, market entry and commercialization in various markets. Veronica has worked on several acclaimed projects, including her work on the first portable electrocardiograph MAC® 400 at GE Healthcare, referred to as “Reverse Innovation” and “Frugal innovation” and featured in Business Week, The Economist and Harvard Business Review.

Veronica is a firm believer in giving back to society; she is a mentor at NUS Enterprise and an Entrepreneur-in-Residence at INSEAD. At Gill™ Lab Veronica leads the charge in global distribution, sales, marketing and partnerships.

Cheong Siah Chong

Founder and Director, Mdesign Solutions

S.C. has 33 years of experience in technology translation, product creation process, product costing, financial control and the running of manufacturing plant, design house and technology start-ups. He is currently the Vice President & Robotics Lead of Singapore Industrial Automation Association (SIAA); and was Co-Chair of the Organizing Committee for Singapore International Robo Expo (SIRE) from 2016-18, a member in IoT Asia program committee as well as a review panelist in the Diagnostic Development Hub since 2015. Since 2014, he has served as a mentor and instructor for NUS-Lean Launch Pad and Jump-Start program, helping teams and collaborating with SUTD, A*Star, NUS, NTU, 

Temasek Polytechnic and Singapore Polytechnic to nurture technopreneurs in MedTech, robotics and urban farming.

S.C. has been involved in three iterations of high-tech start-ups since 2000 and has filed five successful patents under his name. In 2009, Mdesign Solutions received the coveted President’s Design Award for a medical device co-designed with Philips Design Singapore. S.C. is passionate about sharing his knowledge and translating more Singapore-developed IPs into successful global products, including Gill™ Mask, for which he is in charge of a new partnership with A*Star/IMRE and other national organizations.  S.C. graduated with a Bachelor in Mechanical Engineering (Hons.) from National University of Singapore and MBA (International Business) from Nanyang Technological University.  

Lim Eng Seng

Founder and Principal Engineer, Mdesign Solutions

Since 2004, E.S. has led Product Design and Development Services (Mechanical and Industrial Design) at Mdesign Solutions.  He functions as the company’s Principal Consultant, project manager in charge of technical collaboration.  While at Mdesign, he designed and developed the first Lung Electronic Breath Thermometer for Delmedica, and was part of the team responsible for winning the coveted President’s Design Award in 2009.  An established inventor with at least 20 patents filed, E.S. has led mechanical product design and development services in Singapore, Shanghai and Shenzhen.

E.S. began his mechanical engineering career at Philips Electronics (S) Pte Ltd, focusing on developing innovative concurrent design and processes to increase efficiency, decrease delivery time and standardize working methodologies for the consumer electronics giant.   He parlayed much of this experience to his role of Founder, Director and Principal Consultant at Solidcad Techniques Pte Ltd from 1997 – 2004, E.S. designed and developed a number of unique technical firsts for numerous top brands and household names, including the DECT phone for Microsoft, LCD Mirror TV for Philips Vision Division, Flat Screen CRT TV and Mirror TV for Philips Vision Division, LCD Display Steam Iron for Philips Domestic Division and Touch Screen Calculator powered by Windows CE for HP Australia.

He graduated with a degree in Mechanical Engineering (2nd class upper Honors) from National University of Singapore in 1988.    

Join Our Team

Gill Lab is about providing sustainable, long-term solutions to frontline workers and conscious consumers. If you share our vision, we want to hear from you. Drop us a note at info@medesign.com.sg or Click Here to become a partner / distributor..