Imperial College London
Alternate

ProfessorDarrelFrancis

Faculty of Medicine, National Heart & Lung Institute

Professor of Cardiology
 
 
 
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Contact

 

+44 (0)20 7594 3381d.francis Website

 
 
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Assistant

 

Miss Juliet Holmes +44 (0)20 7594 5735

 
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Location

 

Block B Hammersmith HospitalHammersmith Campus

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Summary

 

Publications

Citation

BibTex format

@article{Seligman:2021:10.1371/journal.pone.0249201,
author = {Seligman, H and Zaman, S and Pitcher, DS and Shun-Shin, MJ and Hepworth, Lloyd F and Androschuk, V and Sen, S and Al-Lamee, R and Miller, DM and Barnett, HW and Haji, GS and Howard, LS and Nijjer, S and Mayet, J and Francis, DP and Ces, O and Linton, NWF and Peters, NS and Petraco, R},
doi = {10.1371/journal.pone.0249201},
journal = {PLoS One},
pages = {1--11},
title = {Reusable snorkel masks adapted as particulate respirators},
url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0249201},
volume = {16},
year = {2021}
}
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RIS format (EndNote, RefMan)

TY  - JOUR
AB  - ntroductionDuring viral pandemics, filtering facepiece (FFP) masks together with eye protection form the essential components of personal protective equipment (PPE) for healthcare workers. There remain concerns regarding insufficient global supply and imperfect protection offered by currently available PPE strategies. A range of full-face snorkel masks were adapted to accept high grade medical respiratory filters using bespoke-designed 3D-printed connectors. We compared the protection offered by the snorkel to that of standard PPE using a placebo-controlled respirator filtering test as well as a fluorescent droplet deposition experiment. Out of the 56 subjects tested, 42 (75%) passed filtering testing with the snorkel mask compared to 31 (55%) with a FFP3 respirator mask (p = 0.003). Amongst the 43 subjects who were not excluded following a placebo control, 85% passed filtering testing with the snorkel versus to 68% with a FFP3 mask (p = 0.008). Following front and lateral spray of fluorescence liquid particles, the snorkel mask also provided superior protection against droplet deposition within the subject’s face, when compared to a standard PPE combination of FFP3 masks and eye protection (3.19x108 versus 6.81x108 fluorescence units, p<0.001). The 3D printable adaptors are available for free download online at https://www.ImperialHackspace.com/COVID-19-Snorkel-Respirator-Project/.ConclusionFull-face snorkel masks adapted as particulate respirators performed better than a standard PPE combination of FFP3 mask and eye protection against aerosol inhalation and droplet deposition. This adaptation is therefore a promising PPE solution for healthcare workers during highly contagious viral outbreaks.
AU  - Seligman,H
AU  - Zaman,S
AU  - Pitcher,DS
AU  - Shun-Shin,MJ
AU  - Hepworth,Lloyd F
AU  - Androschuk,V
AU  - Sen,S
AU  - Al-Lamee,R
AU  - Miller,DM
AU  - Barnett,HW
AU  - Haji,GS
AU  - Howard,LS
AU  - Nijjer,S
AU  - Mayet,J
AU  - Francis,DP
AU  - Ces,O
AU  - Linton,NWF
AU  - Peters,NS
AU  - Petraco,R
DO  - 10.1371/journal.pone.0249201
EP  - 11
PY  - 2021///
SN  - 1932-6203
SP  - 1
TI  - Reusable snorkel masks adapted as particulate respirators
T2  - PLoS One
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0249201
UR  - http://gateway.webofknowledge.com/gateway/Gateway.cgi?GWVersion=2&SrcApp=PARTNER_APP&SrcAuth=LinksAMR&KeyUT=WOS:000637647200014&DestLinkType=FullRecord&DestApp=ALL_WOS&UsrCustomerID=1ba7043ffcc86c417c072aa74d649202
UR  - https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0249201
UR  - http://hdl.handle.net/10044/1/92245
VL  - 16
ER  -
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