Low-cost measurement of face mask efficacy for filtering expelled droplets during speech

Mandates for mask use in public during the recent coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, worsened by global shortage of commercial supplies, have led to widespread use of homemade masks and mask alternatives. It is assumed that wearing such masks reduces the likelihood for an infected person...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Science Advances 2020-09, Vol.6 (36)
Main Authors: Fischer, Emma P, Fischer, Martin C, Grass, David, Henrion, Isaac, Warren, Warren S, Westman, Eric
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Betacoronavirus
Coronavirus
Coronavirus Infections - prevention & control
COVID-19
Filtration - statistics & numerical data
Health and Medicine
Humans
Masks - statistics & numerical data
Optical Imaging
Optics
Pandemics - prevention & control
Pneumonia, Viral - prevention & control
Respiration
SARS-CoV-2
SciAdv r-articles
Speech
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Summary:Mandates for mask use in public during the recent coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, worsened by global shortage of commercial supplies, have led to widespread use of homemade masks and mask alternatives. It is assumed that wearing such masks reduces the likelihood for an infected person to spread the disease, but many of these mask designs have not been tested in practice. We have demonstrated a simple optical measurement method to evaluate the efficacy of masks to reduce the transmission of respiratory droplets during regular speech. In proof-of-principle studies, we compared a variety of commonly available mask types and observed that some mask types approach the performance of standard surgical masks, while some mask alternatives, such as neck gaiters or bandanas, offer very little protection. Our measurement setup is inexpensive and can be built and operated by nonexperts, allowing for rapid evaluation of mask performance during speech, sneezing, or coughing.
ISSN:2375-2548
2375-2548
DOI:10.1126/sciadv.abd3083