Kongkiatkamon Suchada, Wongkornchaowalit Norachai, Kiatthanakorn Valailuck, Tonphu Somkiat, Kunanusont Chaiyos
Bangkok Hospital Dental Center, Bangkok Hospital, Bangkok 10310, Thailand.
Bangkok Health Research Center (BHRC), Bangkok Dusit Medical Services Public Company Limited (BDMS), Bangkok, Thailand.
Int J Dent. 2022 Mar 16;2022:1270106. doi: 10.1155/2022/1270106. eCollection 2022.
COVID-19 has spread worldwide and caused severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) led to numerous dead cases. However, with the new COVID-19 outbreaks, there is a shortage of personal protective equipment (PPE) especially N95 masks worldwide including Thailand. This issue had placed the health professional in great need of an alternative mask.
This study aimed to measure the fit factor of 3D printed frames by quantitative fit testing (QNFT) to find an alternative facemask by using a mask fitter together with 2 different kinds of the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) level 1 surgical mask.
Two commonly used surgical masks (Sultan Com-Fit Super Sensitive Ear Loop Mask or "White Mask Group," not water-resistant, and Sultan Blue Com-Fit Super High Filtration Ear Loop Mask or "Blue Mask Group," water-resistant) with and without 3D printed frame covering. The fit performance was measured by a quantitative fit test (QNFT) device (PortaCount, model 8048, TSI Incorporated, Minnesota, USA) accepted by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). The PortaCount device, which is based on a miniature continuous flow condensation nucleus counter (CNC), assesses the respiratory fit by comparing the concentration of ambient dust particles outside the surgical mask to the concentration that has leaked into the surgical mask. The ratio of these two concentrations (C/C) is called the fit factor. A fit factor of a 3D printed frame of at least 100 is required and considered as a pass level.
We found that the mask fitter improves the overall performance of surgical masks significantly. The improved performance is comparable to that of N95.
The mask fitter improves the performance of surgical masks. The authors suggested that further study on frame material, shape, and expanded sample size would be beneficial to society.
新型冠状病毒肺炎（COVID-19）已在全球蔓延，严重急性呼吸综合征冠状病毒2（SARS-CoV-2）导致众多死亡病例。然而，随着新的COVID-19疫情爆发，包括泰国在内的全球各地都出现了个人防护装备（PPE）短缺的情况，尤其是N95口罩。这个问题使得医护人员急需替代口罩。
本研究旨在通过定量适合性测试（QNFT）测量3D打印框架的适合因数，以找到一种替代口罩，方法是将口罩适配器与两种不同类型的美国材料与试验协会（ASTM）1级手术口罩一起使用。
两种常用的手术口罩（苏丹Com-Fit超灵敏耳挂式口罩或“白色口罩组”，不防水，以及苏丹蓝色Com-Fit超高过滤耳挂式口罩或“蓝色口罩组”，防水），有无3D打印框架覆盖。适合性表现通过职业安全与健康管理局（OSHA）认可的定量适合性测试（QNFT）设备（PortaCount，型号8048，TSI公司，美国明尼苏达州）进行测量。PortaCount设备基于微型连续流冷凝核计数器（CNC），通过比较手术口罩外部环境灰尘颗粒的浓度与泄漏到手术口罩内的浓度来评估呼吸适合性。这两种浓度的比值（C/C）称为适合因数。3D打印框架的适合因数至少为100才被要求并视为通过水平。
我们发现口罩适配器显著提高了手术口罩的整体性能。改进后的性能与N95相当。
口罩适配器提高了手术口罩的性能。作者建议对框架材料、形状和扩大样本量进行进一步研究将对社会有益。
