Ergonomic Design and Evaluation of a Pilot Oxygen Mask

Abstract

The present study developed a virtual fit assessment (VFA) method to design an oxygen mask which fits Korean Air Force (KAF) pilots. The VFA method used 3D face scan data of 336 KAF pilots to find the most proper shape of an oxygen mask for KAF pilots. The oxygen mask design revised in the study showed a 27% design improvement effect on average in terms of fit evaluated by the VFA method. Additionally, the present study evaluated the revised oxygen mask prototypes with 88 KAF pilots to experimentally verify the design improvement effect in terms of discomfort, pressure, and suitability for military equipment (slippage and stability in flight-like situations). The discomfort of the revised mask was 33 ~ 56% lower on average than the existing oxygen mask. In terms of the pressure, the revised mask showed 11 ~ 33% of improvement on average compared to the existing mask. Furthermore, on high gravity situation, the slippage distance of the revised mask was 24% shorter on average than the existing mask. The proposed VFA method can be applied to the design and evaluation of wearable products that require an ergonomically better fit for a target population.

Estimation of Facial Contact Pressure Based on Finite Element Analysis

“…This study introduces a novel product design approach using template model registration and FE analysis methods based on 3D body scan database. As our previous research, the virtual fit analysis method [1,2,22] was proposed, which assessed the fit of an oxygen mask design (which was defined as spline curvature, either) onto 3D human faces by calculating Euclidean distances between the mask and facial surface. In the virtual fit analysis method, any material properties of both the face and mask were not considered; however, the prototype of the new oxygen mask designed based on the virtual fit analysis showed good fit and comfort compared to the existing one [23].…”

“…An optimal shape of a facial product design can be found by analyzing facial anthropometric and shape characteristics as well as the contact pressure between the product and the face. Lee et al [1,2] proposed a method of computer-based analysis of the fit between the faces (n = 336) and a pilot oxygen mask for Korean Air Force pilots to find the best form of the oxygen mask, which fits the high amount of Korean pilots. In their follow-up study, the finite element (FE) analysis technique was applied to estimate the contact pressure between the faces and the pilot oxygen mask in order to derive an optimal shape of the oxygen mask that shows a better fit to Korean pilots compared to the previous design [3].…”

Ergonomic evaluation of pilot oxygen mask designs

“…The pilot oxygen mask supplies oxygen to the pilot when a mission is conducted at a high altitude where oxygen is lacking and houses a microphone for communication (Alexander et al, 1979;Lee et al, 2013a). An inappropriate oxygen mask design can cause excessive pressure and/or oxygen leakage around the nasal root due to a lack of fit of the mask to the face (Lee et al, 2013a;Lee et al, 2013b). A pilot can be endangered during operation if moisturized exhalation air leaks through the nasal root and fogs up the visor.…”

“…MBU-20/P pilot oxygen masks (Gentex Corporation, Simpson: PA, USA; Figure 1.a), worn by KAF pilots of F-15 or F-16 fighter, were initially designed using the face anthropometric data of 2,420 US Air Force personnel (Churchill et al, 1977) and then improved by applying the three-dimensional face scan data of 30 male and 30 female pilots (Gross et al, 1997). A survey conducted by KAF on the usability of the MBU-20/P mask identified that a significant percentage of KAF pilots suffered from excessive contact pressure and/or oxygen leakage around the nasal root due to a lack of fit of mask to the face (Lee et al, 2013a;Lee et al, 2013b). Lee et al (2013b) revised the design of the existing oxygen mask as shown in Figure 1.b by applying 3D face anthropometric data of 336 KAF pilots collected by Lee et al (2013a).…”

Ergonomic Design and Evaluation of a Pilot Oxygen Mask for Korea Air Force Pilots

“…The MBU-20/P (Gentex Corporation, U.S.A.) pilot oxygen mask, frequently used for the Korean Air Force (KAF) pilots, was originally designed using face anthropometric data of 2420 U.S. Air Force (USAF) personnel collected by Churchill et al [1] and had been improved by applying the three-dimensional face scan data of 60 (30 males and 30 females) pilots [2]. A survey conducted by Lee et al [3,4] on the usability evaluation of the MBU-20/P mask identified that more than 60 percent of KAF pilots suffered from excessive pressure and/or oxygen leakage around the nasal root due to the lack of fit from the oxygen mask to the face, which is most likely caused by a significant difference in facial shape and size between KAF pilots and USAF personnel [5].…”