Respiratory Protection Engineering Task Force
The Respiratory Protection Engineering Task Force is a group of researchers dedicated to investigating and advancing the science of face masks, face coverings and half-face respirators. Our research seeks to empower mask designers, healthcare workers, and civilians - providing them with the information they need to best protect themselves.
Our mission is to protect civilians and clinicians around the world by providing the knowledge necessary to design, engineer, and regulate effective respiratory protection . We study three main components of respiratory protection: filtration, fit, and user behavior. Our aim is to provide the knowledge necessary to protect people during COVID-19 and to prepare the world for future pandemics.
Our team has been hard at work preparing interactive visualisations for civilians, scientists, and healthcare workers. You can explore our visualisations and data here:
Our research has been covered by news outlets across the world, including:
A new study evaluating fit hacks to improve the fit of face masks.
Learn and explore with our new interactive data visualisations.
Comparing Clinical & Fabric Masks
4 February 2021Our recent paper published in PLOSone compares various types of masks, concluding fit is critical for clinical masks to outperform fabric.
Research used in new CDC guidelines
20 November 2020Our study on fabric fabric face mask material filtration was used by the US Center for Disease Control (CDC) to inform new guidelines on the use of masks by the public.
Article on “The Conversation” regarding which fabrics are best for face masks
18 November 2020In our recent article for The Conversation, we break down the findings of our first study for easy reading.
Study on inexpensive qualitative fit testing published
10 September 2020Our recent study published in the American Medical Association's Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness journal discovers a way to inexpensively and easily conduct qualitative fit testing without a commercial kit.
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