Soft Systems group director Dr Adam Stokes is lead investigator, along with several other distinguished Co-investigators on a Chief Scientist Office (CSO) funded project for printing 3D protective facemasks. The grant was part of Rapid Research in COVID-19 related calls. Amongst the, University of Edinburgh affiliated, co-investigators are an expert in virology and virus survival on various materials, Clinical lecturers, and an entrepreneur in residence for The Bayes Centre.
The ongoing global pandemic has highlighted the shortage and difficult procurement of personal protective equipment, particularly FFP3 masks, as a major weakness in preparedness to wide scale infectious crises. Clinically available 3D scanners can be repurposed to rapidly scan and generate customised WHO standard face masks within hospitals. These masks can be easily cleaned and reused, protecting workers between patients, and reducing time off with the disease.
As COVID-19 is a highly contagious viral infection that spreads through small droplets when an infected person coughs or exhales, healthcare workers become a particular risk of infection due to their frequent and high dose exposure.
Edinburgh Infectious Diseases have conducted research which indicates that surgical masks and hand-made masks were found to limit the forward flow of a breath out, but also generate far-reaching leakage jets to the side, behind, above and below. Heavy breathing and coughing, in particular, were shown to generate intense backward jets. However, only masks that form a tight seal with the face were found to prevent the escape of virus-laden fluid particles, the team says.
Unfortunately, it is becoming apparent on the ground that off-the-shelf face masks do not fit everyone, and the available stock might not be suitable to fit the population of workers which could allow for inadequate seals as well as discomfort. It has been documented that it is quite common for workers to fail their “fit tests” even during normal conditions. By using accurate and individual 3D scanning technology, 3D printed masks could conform to the users’ and reduce the risk of failing “fit-tests” where the efficacy of airborne particles passing the filter in a facemask is evaluated.
As well as providing a tight seal around the face, by personalising the mask to the user’s face, this will reduce the mechanical pressure points on the wearer’s face and enable long-term comfort. There have been several images shared on social media of doctors and nurses faces with welts and deep marks due to the pressure and rubbing of their mask, which has been worn for long durations of time.
One very important aspect of this project is for the masks to conform to WHO standards. As part of these specifications the project will also aim to focus on determining if the materials used in 3D printing can be reliably and quickly disinfected to inactivate SARS-CoV-2, as well as test how long the virus can live on various materials. Thereby generating a reusable mask that is safe for the worker. An important added side-effect of producing these systems would be a reduction in the volume of contaminated medical waste.
As well as the research and work outlined various long term and offshoot ideas and impact areas have been considered too. The excellent collaborative relationship, inspiration, and expertise knowledge of a team with diverse disciplines has propelled this research. The team has been working on this project throughout lockdown and continues to make advances and good progress. We look forward to reaching the point the masks are readily being used in clinical circumstances.
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