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
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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