The Usability of Face Coverings Used to Prevent the Spread of COVID-19

Objective To describe the perceived usability and usability problems associated with face coverings used to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Background Since public health experts have now identified the appropriate use of facemasks as one of the critical elements in an effective COVID mitigation strategy, understanding how people use and care for them has become important. Method Data were collected via a survey that was shared on social media to which 2148 people responded. Participants were asked to identify the category class of the face covering they most often wear, rate its usability, answer demographic information, and questions about their mask use and hygiene, and identify issues they may suffer in relation to face cover use. Results Overall, users appear to perceive their face coverings favorably from a usability and satisfaction standpoint, even though almost two-thirds of users indicated that they experienced discomfort and problems with glasses fogging with the most popular mask types. When considering demographic information, users’ political party affiliation appears related to how they perceive the usability of their face covering. Conclusion Designers should work to improve the fit and comfort properties of protective masks; evidence suggests the System Usability Scale may be a useful tool in those efforts. Application Understanding mask design and behavioral issues related to their use can help in the development of masks and will maximize their acceptance and effectiveness in the field.

Development of a patient-specific immobilisation facemask for radiation therapy using additive manufacturing, pressure sensors and topology optimisation

Purpose Radiotherapy relies on the delivery of radiation to cancer cells with millimetre accuracy, and immobilisation of patients is essential to minimise unwanted damage to surrounding healthy cells due to patient movement. Traditional thermoformed face masks can be uncomfortable and stressful for patients and may not be accurately fitted. The purpose of this study was to use 3D scanning and additive manufacturing to digitise this workflow and improve patient comfort and treatment outcomes. Design/methodology/approach The head of a volunteer was scanned using an Artec Leo optical scanner (Artec, Luxembourg) and ANSYS (Ansys, Canonsburg, USA) software was used to make two 3D models of the mask: one with a nose bridge and one open as would be used with optical surface guidance. Data based on measurements from ten pressure sensors around the face was used to perform topology optimisation, with the best designs 3D printed using fused deposition modelling (FDM) and tested on the volunteer with embedded pressure sensors. Findings The two facemasks proved to be significantly different in terms of restricting head movement inside the masks. The optimised mask with a nose bridge effectively restricted head movement in roll and yaw orientations and exhibited minimal deformation as compared to the open mask design and the thermoformed mask. Originality/value The proposed workflow allows customisation of masks for radiotherapy immobilisation using additive manufacturing and topology optimisation based on collected pressure sensor data. In the future, sensors could be embedded in masks to provide real-time feedback to clinicians during treatment.

Masked Emotions: Do Face Mask Patterns and Colors Affect the Recognition of Emotions?

Previous research has shown that face masks restrain the ability to perceive social information and readability of emotions. These studies mostly explored the effect of standard medical, often white masks on emotion recognition. However, in reality, many individuals prefer masks with different styles. We investigated whether the appearance of the mask (pattern-angular vs. curvy and color-black vs. white) affected the recognition of emotional states. Participants were asked to identify the emotions on faces covered by masks with different designs. The presence of masks impeded emotional recognition, dropping the accuracy and confidence and increasing reaction times. There were no main effects of angularity vs. curvature or color on emotion recognition, which suggests that mask design may not impair the recognition beyond the effect of mere mask wearing. Besides, we found relationships between individual difference variables such as mask wearing attitudes, mask design preferences, individual traits and emotional recognition. The majority of participants demonstrated positive attitudes towards mask wearing and preferred non-patterned black and white masks. Preferences for white masks were associated with better emotional recognition of masked faces. In contrast, those with negative attitudes towards masks showed lower performance in emotional recognition for masked faces, preferring patterned more than plain masks, perhaps viewing masks as a fashion item rather than a necessity. Moreover, preferences to wear patterned masks were negatively related to actual wearing masks indoors and perceived risks of COVID.

Moldable Mask: A Reusable, Hot Water Moldable, Additively Manufactured Mask to Be Used as an N95 Alternative

There has been high demand for personal protective equipment (PPE) during the COVID-19 pandemic, especially N95 respirators. Unfortunately, at the early stage of the pandemic, the supply could not meet the demand for N95 respirators, leading to a shortage and unsafe reuse of this form of PPE. We developed the Moldable Mask to ease the demand for N95 respirators by creating a 3D-printed mask that uses a piece of N95 material as a filter. A sheet of N95 material could be used or one N95 respirator to be turned into two masks. The main feature of the mask is the ability to easily mold it in hot water to create a custom fit for each user. It can also be easily assembled at home with affordable materials. The final mask design was qualitatively fit tested on 13 subjects, with all subjects showing an improvement in fit with the hot water molding technique and 10 (77%) subjects passing the fit test. This shows that the Moldable Mask is a viable option for a safe, affordable N95 alternative when N95 mask supply is strained.

Proximal Algorithms for Discrete-Level Phase-Shifting Mask Design with Application to Optogenetics

This work studies the problem of designing computer-generated holograms using phase-shifting masks limited to represent only a small number of discrete phase levels. This problem has various applications, notably in the emerging field of optogenetics and lithography. A novel regularized cost function is proposed for the problem at hand that penalizes the unfeasible phase levels. Since the proposed cost function is non-smooth, we derive proper proximal gradient algorithms for its minimization. Simulation results, considering an optogenetics application, demonstrate that the proposed proximal gradient algorithm yields better performance as compared to other algorithms proposed in the literature.

Review of materials and testing methods for virus filtering performance of face mask and respirator

Respiratory protection devices such as face masks and respirators minimize the transmission of infectious diseases by providing a physical barrier to respiratory virus particles. The level of protection from a face mask and respirator depends on the nature of filter material, the size of infectious particle, breathing and environmental conditions, facial seal, and user compliance. The ongoing COVID‒19 pandemic has resulted in the global shortage of surgical face mask and respirator. In such a situation, significant global populations have either reused the single‒use face mask and respirator or used a substandard face mask fabricated from locally available materials. At the same time, researchers are actively exploring filter materials having novel functionalities such as antimicrobial, enhanced charge holding, and heat regulating properties to design potentially better face mask. In this work, we reviewed research papers and guidelines published primarily in last decade focusing on, (a) virus filtering efficiency, (b) impact of type of filter material on filtering efficiency, (c) emerging technologies in mask design, and (d) decontamination approaches. Finally, we provide future prospective on the need of novel filter materials and improved design.

Air seal performance of personalized and statistically shaped 3D-printed face masks compared with market-available surgical and FFP2 masks

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has revealed alarming shortages of personal protective equipment for frontline healthcare professionals and the general public. Therefore, a 3D-printable mask frame was developed, and its air seal performance was evaluated and compared. Personalized masks (PM) based on individual face scans (n = 8) and a statistically shaped mask (SSM) based on a standardized facial soft tissue shape computed from 190 face scans were designed. Subsequently, the masks were additively manufactured, and in a second step, the PM and SSM were compared to surgical masks (SM) and FFP2 masks (FFP2) in terms of air seal performance. 3D-printed face models allowed for air leakage evaluation by measuring the pressure inside the mask in sealed and unsealed conditions during a breathing simulation. The PM demonstrated the lowest leak flow (p < 0.01) of inspired or expired unfiltered air of approximately 10.4 ± 16.4%, whereas the SM showed the highest (p < 0.01) leakage with 84.9 ± 7.7%. The FFP2 and SSM had similar values of 34.9 ± 18.5% leakage (p > 0.68). The developed framework allows for the time- and resource-efficient, on-demand, and in-house production of masks. For the best seal performance, an individually personalized mask design might be recommended.

MINIMIZING THE DISTRIBUTION OF THE COVID-19 PLAGUE THROUGH ERGONOMIC MASK DESIGN

The Langsa City Government-issued Circular Number 443.1 / 1066/2020 regarding one of the contents of wearing a mask when outside the home, due to the increasing spread of the Covid-19 outbreak. The Covid-19 outbreak has spread throughout the world, making it a global problem. ASEAN countries that have confirmed positive for contracting Covid-19 are Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, and the Philippines, Indonesia. Indonesia determined 1,528 positive Covid-19 and 136 cases of death, especially Aceh Province, there were 9 people who tested positive for Covid-19. The recommendation of the Langsa City Government is very hard to be implemented by the residents of Langsa City, it is proven that there are still many Langsa City residents who do not wear masks when outside the house. The aim of this service is to minimize the transmission of the covid-19 outbreak in Langsa City by providing ergonomic masks to the residents of Langsa City. The masks provided are designed so that humans are comfortable wearing them. The Community Service activities started from a field survey, designing ergonomic masks and what Langsa City residents wanted, making masks, then the Service Team and Partners gave Langsa City Residents who did not wear masks while outside the house. Service outputs are ISSN service journals (publish), print media (publish), and products (ergonomic masks). The target that the Service Team hopes for is that residents of Langsa City wear ergonomic masks when they are outside the house and avoid the Covis-19 outbreak by using ergonomic masks.