Preprint Article Version 1 Preserved in Portico This version is not peer-reviewed

Rapid Prototyping of Reusable 3D-Printed N95 Equivalent Respirators at the George Washington University

Version 1 : Received: 30 March 2020 / Approved: 31 March 2020 / Online: 31 March 2020 (04:44:06 CEST)

How to cite: Provenzano, D.; Rao, Y.J.; Mitic, K.; Obaid, S.N.; Pierce, D.; Huckenpahler, J.; Berger, J.; Goyal, S.; Loew, M.H. Rapid Prototyping of Reusable 3D-Printed N95 Equivalent Respirators at the George Washington University. Preprints 2020, 2020030444. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202003.0444.v1 Provenzano, D.; Rao, Y.J.; Mitic, K.; Obaid, S.N.; Pierce, D.; Huckenpahler, J.; Berger, J.; Goyal, S.; Loew, M.H. Rapid Prototyping of Reusable 3D-Printed N95 Equivalent Respirators at the George Washington University. Preprints 2020, 2020030444. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202003.0444.v1

Abstract

The 2019 Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) has caused an acute reduction in world supplies of personal protective equipment (PPE) due to increased demand. To combat the impending shortage of equipment including N95 masks, the George Washington University Hospital (GWUH) developed a 3D printed reusable N95 comparable respirator that can be used with multiple filtration units. We evaluated several candidate prototype respirator models, 3D printer filaments, and filtration units detailed here. Our most recent working model was based on a respirator found on an open source maker website and was developed with PLA (printer filament), a removable cap, a removable filtration unit consisting of two layers of MERV 16 sandwiched between MERV 13, and removable elastic bands to secure the mask. Our candidate mask passed our own suction test protocol to evaluate leakage and passed a qualitative Bitrix N95 fit test at employee health at GWUH. Further efforts are directed at improving the current model for seal against face, comfort, and sizing. The 3D model is available upon request and in the supplement of this paper. We welcome collaboration with other institutions and suggest other facilities consider mask fit for their own population when exploring this concept.

Keywords

COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2; coronavirus; novel coronavirus; 3D printing; N95; respirator; mask

Subject

Engineering, Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering

Comments (0)

Comment 1
Received: 5 April 2020
Commenter: Serenity Little
The commenter has declared there is no conflict of interests.
Comment: Hi you may or may not have already received a message from me. I am not sure if it went through. I just read your research paper and have family in the medical field. I am asking these questions for personal use, as they have started to run out of PPE at the hospital that my family works at. I was wondering if since your paper has been publish if you has found any other filtration materials. I was also looking for some advice on sealant for the masks and securing them to the face/head. In addition, I has some questions on layer height and infill percentages. Finally, I would greatly appreciate it if you would send me the latest STL. file for the updated version of the mask and parts. Thank you for taking the time to read my message.
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