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2- fit-test

Totobobo mask hits 25 countries

by info on June 24, 2009

a teenage girl wearing Totobobo mask

a teenage girl wearing Totobobo mask

The current H1N1 flu triggered a sudden increase in sales of face masks and Totobobo, the first customizable face mask, is now hitting 25 countries across the world. This is a new milestone for the company, Dream Lab One, the producer of the Totobobo mask.

Travelers, cyclists, wood-turners and artists alike have found this reusable mask highly effective in blocking out polluted air and various irritants. Sales of this reusable mask has increased significantly and it has received rave reviews from users around the world.

“This mask may have saved my life. First, the mask is made out of a rubbery material, so it sticks naturally to your skin. After I found the perfect position on my face for my mask, I no longer have any problems with breathing…at all…period. My nose has cleared up, my eyes are no longer irritated, I don’t cough or sneeze at all anymore. It’s comfortable and it doesn’t fog my glasses! I hardly know I’m wearing it!” said Paula Ford, a satisfied Totobobo user and a pastel artist residing in Tennessee, United States.

Individuals who rely a lot on respiratory masks tend to live in environments that contain either polluted air or airborne disease pathogens. An effective mask helps to filter out polluted air and airborne virus. There are two conditions that determine whether a respiratory mask is effective. First, it needs to seal the wearer’s nose and mouth snugly. Second, the filter material must be able to filter out the smallest of particles.

“Money can buy high quality filters, but a good seal has been a hit-or-miss affair,” said Francis Chu, the designer of the revolutionary mask. His design provides a simple and intuitive solution call VSC (Visual-Seal-Check) for the user to check the face-seal.

Easy Visual-Seal-Check (VSC):
To ensure good respiratory seal, normal N95 mask users can only rely on their ability to feel the air-leak around their face. Such method is not reliable and sometimes it gives a fault sense of security. Francis believes his transparent mask allows users to check the seal intuitively and to ensure minimal seepage of polluted air.

To verify this, he sent the mask to a hospital and compared the Visual-Seal-Check (VSC) with the gold standard respirator fit-test, a high-end quantitative system called PortaCount from TSI Incorporated. The result showed strong correlation (90%) between the prediction of the Visual-Seal-Check (VSC) method and the result of the gold standard fit-test proving his intuitive method effective.

“The Visual-Seal-Check, or VSC, is much more reliable than the seal check found in other N95 masks. This study shows that face-seal can be determined simply by checking the seal through the transparent mask,” says Francis.

5 years old boy wearing Totobobo mask

5 years old boy wearing Totobobo mask

Over half of the recent orders are coming from parents traveling with children. They appreciate the possibility to customize the mask to fit their young children. With the VSC they are more reassured that their children are getting the optimal protection.

To buy Totobobo mask (International)
To buy Totobobo mask in Singapore

Recent visitors

Recent visitors

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Demonstration of Totobobo mask to D&T teachers

by info on June 14, 2009

Francis was invited by the Curriculum Planning and Development Division of the MOE to give a talk to a group of D&T teachers about the design process of the Totobobo mask. He demonstrated how to put on and take off the Totobobo mask during the presentation.

Here is the video of the demonstration:

“I was motivated to find a solution to protect my children after the SARS incidents.” Francis explained. “None of the N95 mask fit children because they were all designed and certified for adult in occupational context.” To ensure protection, the mask must fit the user’s face snugly and forming a good seal. Most people do not realize that and thought they are safe by wearing an N95 mask. In fact they need to validate the seal by going through a fit-test by qualified facilitator and with specialized equipment to check the seal.
A study in Prince of Wales Hospital suggested 1 in 4 health care worker thought they have a good seal but in fact it’s not.
Another study “Respiratory Donning in Post-Hurricane New Orleans” (published on the US CDC website in May 2007) further highlight the challenge to achieve a good seal. The researchers found 76% participants were not able to demonstrate proper donning for a good seal and their protection has been compromised.

After experiemented with hundreds of hand made prototypes, the solution that Francis came up was remarkably simple- construct the mask with transparent material and you can immediately see where it touches the skin, or not. To validate this principle he compare the results of fit-tested Totobobo mask with the visual-check prediction. The result was more than 90% accuracy, much higher predictability than any other mask available in the market. In a practical sense, the Totobobo mask come with it’s built in fit-tester.

D&T teachers sitting behind the early hand made prototypes and benchmark masks

D&T teachers sitting behind the early hand made prototypes and benchmark masks

To cater for the face size of small children, Francis developed a unique method to attached the strap onto the mask. Different from all competitive product the strap of Totobobo mask is not attached to the edge of the mask, but away from it. This new method allows the mask to be trimmed to easily fit all children from 5 years old. Such approach would appear unthinkable because in a normal mask design you would cut off the strap as well. But looking through the hand made prototypes the solution seems to be logical- Francis has been cutting a lot of masks to fit his children!

The D&T teachers and the guests were impressed by the innovation. “Can I buy the Totobobo mask for my students in Art & craft class?” asked one of the teachers. “Sure, and you will get a special education discount too.” Francis answered with a smile.

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How to perform a Visual-Seal-Check (VSC)?

by info on January 12, 2009

Totobobo mask is able to  fit a wide range of  large and small faces. However, it is not possible to claim that it always seal your face perfectly. Sometimes it may reqire adjustment of the strap and the position of the mask to improve the seal. Sometimes trimming down the mask to a smaller size may help.

The purpose of a user-seal-check is to provide a fast and reliable method to evaluate the face seal, without the need of fit-test equipments.

User-seal-check of normal respirator (e.g. N95 mask) involve the steps of cupping the filter area with hands, forcefully inhale and/or exhale to sense if there is air-leak. Such method relys on the user’s ability to feel the air movement around the leak area. Sereverl studies shown such method is not relaible.

The Totobobo Visual-Seal-Check (VSC) method (patent pending) is facilitated by a very fine texture molded on the inside of the transparent mask. In normal condition, the surface is dry and it appear as semi-transparent. The same surface turns transparent if there is water stick on the surface. Even a tiny little water trapped between the mask and the face will make the surface change from semi-transparent to complete transparent.

To do a simple Visual-Seal-Check, you apply a little moisture on your face, than put the mask on. Observe the edge of the mask. Where it is completely transparent, there is a good seal. Where there is semi-transparent, there is no seal. It will be consider as a good overall seal If there is a continuous seal circle around the nose and mouth.

Our user test using a TSI PortaCount system in a hospital, the gold standard of respirator fit test, shows there is a strong correlation (90%+) between the Visual-Seal-Check (VSC) and the standard fit-test results. In other words, it is possible to predict if the mask will pass or fail the gold standard fit-test by performing a TOTOBOBO VSC. This is particular useful for people who don’t have access to a proper fit-test system.

Milky surface indicates the face seal leak location

Milky surface indicates the face seal leak location

Transparent surface indicates good face seal of Totobobo mask

Transparent surface indicates good face seal of Totobobo mask

Buy Totobobo mask

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TOTOBOBO mask in NIOSH site

by info on September 12, 2008

Totobobo mask was spotted in NIOSH NO-FIT-TEST workshop page    Totobobo mask was spotted in NIOSH NO-FIT-TEST workshop page

I was surpriced when my friend show me this page in CDC site. NIOSH, the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health under CDC, is the US organization who certify the well known N95 mask. What made TOTOBOBO, a little known Singapore invention of respirator mask, appears in this heavy weight website?

No, TOTOBOBO is not certified by NIOSH, at least not yet. The picture of an early version of TOTOBOBO mask found in the NIOSH website is to serve as an inspirational example for a “No Fit Test” filtering facepiece respirator workshop. The workshop will be conducted in Nov. 6 later this year and the objective is:

“To better understand the interdisciplinary research needs and challenges in developing and certifying a universal “no-fit-test” filtering-facepiece respirator”

I think this is totally appropriate and it shows NIOSH recgonize the need to improve the current procedure in order to motivate manufacturers to innovate toward the direction of “No fit test” respirator. 

Why is this big fuss about “No fit Test”?

If you read carefully the fine text of your respirator instruction, you will notice a statement similar to this:

“Before use of this respirator, a written respiratory protection program must be implemented meeting all the requirements of OSHA 29 CFR 1910,134 such as training, fit testing, medical evaluation, and applicable OSHA substance specific standards.” 

The simple fact is, the rated protection value will be drastically reduced if the mask does not fit your face, and there is no other ways to tell except by doing a fit-test. Buying a mask is easy, but getting a mask fit-tested on each individual is a challenge. In emergency situation like flu pandemic or haze outbreak, it is simply not possible to get everyone a fit tested at once. 

One can start to sense the “pain of fit test” and how touchy this issue is from the following comment in one of the NIOSH science blog :

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NIOSH debate how often to fit test

NIOSH debate how often to fit tes

Hopeful to see Fit-Test to be lifted- Edward Hernandez, City of Hialeah, Fire Rescue says:- Thank you for proposing a study as this. For a while now this OSHA (Fit-test) requirement  has been a burden to our Fire/EMS service.

Hopeful to see Fit Test to be simplified-Peggie Reinhardt, RN BSN, says:

I would be interested in this study, we currently fit test our employees annually. If this process could be shortened or redesigned so that it was easier to do would help tremendously.

Fighting to keep Fit-Test in organization- Sgt. Julie Love says:

I would be interested in being part of this study on the law enforcement side. We fit test our officers annually but many departments do not. Law Enforcment traditionally has fallen down in this area as many agencies just give their officers their masks without any fit testing. We also fight the battle with our management with what is mandated.

Worry that No-Fit-Test= Not Safe-Kevin MacDonald says:

 I am concerned that changing the fit test frequency while cost effective may defeat its overall purpose. when fit testing went from every 6 months to one year as a requirement of OSHA it was a step back.

Confused and concern-Kelly Russell says:

I am glad this study is being done. Respiratory fit testing is expensive for employers and it will be good to have a current answer when asked why we have to do the testing so often….or maybe not so often as the case may be.

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No matter what, the setting up of this workshop itself is already a breakthrough, and we are definitively happy to be associate with the solution side of the problem. We hope the result of the workshop will bring more practical innovation into the design and certification of respirator, especially taking people like housewife and children who don’t have access to fit-test equipment but also deserved to have good protection when situation come.

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Time for a better mask to protect children

March 17, 2008

“I can find adult N95 masks, but none to fit a child.”
After the San Diego fire in the summar of 2008 Joe Flynn started to worry about her son. She bought a few N95 masks for herself but it was impossible to find smaller masks to fit her child.
Joe was not alone. Bob Williams from [...]

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Clearly a Better Way to Check for Safety

January 11, 2008

The protective function of a respirator mask is based on two functions;
(1) the filter media must let in air but stop harmful and unwanted particles from entering the breathing zone.
(2) the mask must fit the user’s face and form a complete seal so that no air bypasses the filter media and enters the breathing zone [...]

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