AATCC to continue PPE digital series

AATCC, a US-based not-for-profit association serving textile professionals, has announced a live presentation + Q&A session with AATCC and Duke University researcher, Dr David Grass, PhD, on September 24, 2020 to learn more about a recent study exploring a variety of facemask styles and their efficacy in preventing the spread of Covid-19 and similar viruses.

“Mandates for mask use in public during the recent Covid-19 pandemic have worsened by global shortage of commercial supplies which led to widespread use of homemade masks and mask alternatives,” AATCC reported in a press release. “It is assumed that wearing such masks reduces the likelihood for an infected person to spread the disease, but many of these mask designs have not been tested in practice.”

AATCC’s research team has demonstrated a simple optical measurement method to evaluate the efficacy of masks to reduce the transmission of respiratory droplets during regular speech. In proof-of-principle studies, they compared a variety of commonly available mask types and observed that some mask types approach the performance of standard surgical masks, while some mask alternatives, such as neck fleece or bandanas, offer very little protection. The measurement setup is inexpensive and can be built and operated by non-experts, allowing for rapid evaluation of mask performance during speech, sneezing or coughing.

Dr Grass is a postdoctoral fellow in the laboratory of professor Warren Warren at Duke University, working on early detection of metastatic melanoma (skin cancer) with ultrafast spectroscopy and microscopy. He is a recipient of the Walter Benjamin Fellowship.