Improving the Fit of Respiratory Face Masks through 3D Scanning, Finite Elements Analysis and Additive Manufacturing

The 2020 COVID-19 pandemic sheds a new light on the importance of wearing a mask to prevent virus propagation. A respiratory mask's efficiency is highly dependent on its adjustment with the face. With traditional face masks, achieving a perfect seal with the face proves to be challenging, even impossible without the aggressive tightening of its straps. Healthcare workers typically wear protective face masks for several consecutive hours, leading to discomfort, inflammation, or more serious injuries. This paper highlights how the combination of current technologies such as 3D scanning, Finite Element simulation, machine learning, and additive manufacturing offers a seamless workflow to generate a sterilizable, reusable and validated custom-fit mask.