Mask of necessity

thingiverse

While reading about the impact of the coronavirus, I noticed areas where medical workers were struggling with insufficient masks, forcing them to reuse masks and put themselves and their patients at risk. This led me to think of a better solution that would work reasonably well in times of need. A good solution needed to be partly disposable, inexpensive, and ubiquitous. Small drip coffee filters seemed like a viable option, but they required a way to hold them securely. The design shown below is a plastic mask that holds a folded small coffee filter, which can be 3D printed or cut out of stiff, flexible plastic, such as a report cover. The mask requires no adhesive and can be easily flattened for cleaning between patients. Coffee filters can be discarded after every patient. Larger filters could be cut down and folded to work well too. The mask is held in place with rubber bands around the ears, which can be cut and passed through round holes or wrapped around semicircular slots to size easily. A two-filter stack worked well; just fold them up into a cone and stuff them into the mask. Rubber bands will hold everything against your face. This design is not a replacement for a good respirator but an alternative to surgical masks if they are not available. If proper masks are available, they should be used. The image at the end of this file is a 1:1 scale and can be used as a stencil to cut out a mask using scissors or a razor blade. A friend modified the hooks, making them smaller and easier to manage in Version 2.