A Modified Surgical Face Mask to Improve Protection and Wearing Comfort

Wearing face masks is essential for reducing infection during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, ordinary surgical can provide only moderate protection. The N95 should sufficient protection but may impose complaints about breathing difficulty or even impair respiratory health. This investigation proposed a novel mask modified from to improve both and comfort. filter material of was covered sealed on cardboard support frame with openings air permeating through. were worn by test subject measuring contents inside masks. performance evaluated overall PM1 filtration efficiency. concentrations CO2, O2, N2, water vapor adopted evaluate compared market-available In addition, CFD modeling investigate dynamic exchange respiration surrounding air. Impacts sampling tube positions measurement results also examined. revealed that efficiency could reach 96.2%, which much higher than slightly lower mask. As mask, reduced flow resistance CO2 thus increased O2 content