Coronavirus: home-made origami face masks may fit better than commercial ones, study suggests
- US scientists say the paper-folding technique can be used to make a simple mask that potentially has a better seal than surgical or N95 masks
- Their study, which has not been peer-reviewed, tested the filtering capacity of common materials ranging from kitchen wipes to reusable shopping bags
Anyone can make their own origami face mask and it may potentially be better at blocking microscopic coronavirus particles than commercially available ones, a new study suggests.
The paper-folding technique could be used to turn widely available materials such as furnace filters into masks that fit better than surgical or N95 masks, according to lab tests carried out by scientists at the University of California, Irvine.
A better fit means better protection – the filtration rate of commercial masks can be reduced to just 20 per cent if they do not fit properly. But the scientists found that their origami mask was still 60 to 70 per cent effective in stopping the spread of airborne disease even when worn loosely.
“We have designed a mask that can be produced with minimal cost and labour that optimises filtration efficiency and ease of breathing,” the team led by chemistry professor James Smith wrote in a paper posted on preprint server medRxiv.org on Tuesday, meaning it has not been peer-reviewed.
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The paper-folding art can be complex, so Smith’s team came up with a six-step design that anyone could recreate in 10 minutes using just a pair of elastic straps, some wire, a stapler and a square of filter material.