Comfortable Face Mask for Long-Term Wear

PROJECT SUMMARY Although air-purifying respirators (APRs) protect against the spread of harmful particulate matter from nat- ural disasters like wildfires or pandemics like COVID-19, industry-standard APRs can cause contact dermatitis, discomfort, and bruising after prolonged wear; obstruction of visual communication, significant environmental waste, and, in many types of commonly used masks, provide insufficient or unknown filtration. When the appro- priate fit of an N95 filtering facepiece respirator (N95 FFR) is pursued, long-term wear can cause painful bruising of the skin, making them unsuitable for long-term occupational use. This NIH R21 project proposes the develop- ment of a new type of personal respiratory protection device called the Smart, Individualized, Near-face, Ex- tended Wear (SINEW) Mask. The proposed design uses electrostatic filters to overcome many of the barriers of traditional masks while providing a high degree of protection. Using an N95 FFR significantly increases breathing resistance which is problematic for workers performing physically demanding tasks. To avoid increasing breath- ing resistance, the innovative design removes particles from airflow, while the mask does not come in contact with the skin of the wearer's face. Instead, it uses a comfortable headband to keep the mask in place. The filtering action takes place along the entire perimeter of the mask, 3 to 10 mm from the face surface. Particles and droplets present in the air are removed with electrostatic forces. While this principle is common for industrial electrostatic precipitators (ESP) and is in HVAC equipment, a wearable filter for the face using electrostatic precipitation is a novel approach, enabled only by recent miniaturization of power electronics and advances in material science, specifically in catalytic coatings. Resistance to airflow is negligible because of the fundamental feature of the design - the gap between the mask and the face lets air through freely while removing the harmful particles in both the inhalation and the exhalation cycles. This feature is very important for exercise and for comfortable breathing by workers with health conditions (e.g., asthma) that would prevent them from using a traditional FFR. Other advantages of the design include a clear face shield, which allows people to read the lips and facial expressions of the wearer. The SINEW Mask is sterilizable and reusable, so it does not contribute to the escalating global waste problem of disposable masks. The recent COVID-19 pandemic demonstrated that uncomfortable masks lead to reduced usage. SINEW Masks can improve the long-term health of firefighters, healthcare workers, and any worker who needs comfortable, sterilizable, reusable protection against harmful particulate matter.