Overview of the User Experience for Snorkeling Mask Designs during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

During the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, industries and academic institutes have collaborated to resolve the worldwide medical supply shortage issues. Innovative designs of 3D-printed items were proposed and developed by the maker community as a temporary solution to address the lack of personal protective equipment. An overview of global ongoing and past initiatives during the COVID-19 pandemic along with their challenges on retrofitting full-face snorkeling masks for healthcare applications such as splash-proof face shields, respirator masks and non-invasive ventilation systems are reported in this contribution. This study reviews these global initiatives and challenges. From our analysis, the present situation highlights the need to build solid networks between healthcare institutes and the different rapid prototyping initiatives. A clear feedback system needs to be implemented to facilitate effective collaboration between engineering (maker) and healthcare teams, to optimize the available human resources, and to achieve adequate product developments responding to the needs of healthcare workers.

Impact of the First Phase of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Acquisition of Goods and Services in the Italian Health System

“…In order to allow these operations, choices were made about spending and reducing ordinary activities [ 18 , 19 ] in order to maintain as many spaces and people as possible during the emergency. In some cases, new production techniques, as additive manufacturing [ 20 ] or 3D-printing [ 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 ], have been used to address PPE deficiencies.…”

Use of 3D printed connectors to redesign full face snorkeling masks in the COVID-19 era: A preliminary technical case-study

“…Notably, due to the popularity of this technology in recent years, independent and local production systems have been rapidly launched. Although the overall production capacity of AM technologies remains low and its costs are relatively high (depending on machine type), the creation of local networks provided a strong manufacturing flexibility, mitigating supply chain disruptions, which proved to be essential during this pandemic [13] , [14] , [15] , [16] . Accessible open-source software for computer-aided design (CAD) was used to tailor the medical products in demand.…”

“…Among the different new proofs-of-concept explored during the pandemic significant efforts have been put towards the fabrication of connectors allowing the use of snorkeling masks for healthcare applications. These modified masks have been mostly used as PPE, such as splash-proof face shields or respiratory facemasks (replacing standard N-95 masks) to support health-care workers (HCW) [16] . Some authors also evaluated the potential of these modified snorkelling masks as a new Non-Invasive-Ventilation (NIV) device adapted to the care of COVID-19 patients suffering from acute respiratory failure as highlighted in Figure 1 .…”

Efeitos adversos agudos e conforto da interface máscara de mergulho como estratégia de suporte ventilatório durante a ventilação não invasiva

“…13,14,15 Nesse contexto, a máscara de mergulho foi utilizada em algumas situações de emergência, como por exemplo, no enfrentamento da primeira onda da pandemia de COVID-19, onde indústrias e institutos acadêmicos colaboraram para resolver os problemas de escassez de suprimentos médicos em todo o mundo, e os desafios na adaptação de máscaras de mergulho de rosto inteiro para aplicações de saúde, como protetores faciais e máscaras respiratórias de sistemas não invasivos foram relatados como contribuição. 16 Diante disso, objetivou-se avaliar os efeitos adversos agudos e conforto da interface máscara de mergulho como estratégia de suporte ventilatório durante a ventilação não invasiva.…”