Verschlimmbesserung means a purported improvement that makes things worse. Management of change (MOC) relates to processes changes that can result in “new” or “changed” outputs that affect internal or external customers. Lorenzo, Wong, and Suyama, “Recognize Hazards to Recognize Change.”…
FixTheMask offers designs for surgical mask sealers and braces that can be produced on 3D printers to improve the performance of surgical and other masks by preventing leakage around the sides. What is particularly impressive here is that fixthemask apparently…
“Researchers created a test to determine which masks are the least effective” By Alaa Elassar, CNN N95 respirators and surgical masks worked best, “Folded bandanas and knitted masks also performed poorly and did not offer much protection.”
The Case for Universal Cloth Mask Adoption and Policies to Increase Supply of Medical Masks for Health Workers “Our analysis suggests each cloth facemask generates thousands of dollars in value from reduced mortality risk. Each medical mask, when used by…
Fit testing looks like an unmet need for surgical and improvised face masks. If air can leak around the sides, it doesn’t matter how good the material is, and earloop masks look particularly bad along these lines. illustrates a…
The World Health Organization is still trying to make up its mind about this (per what appears to be the most recent guidance issued in June 2020): “At the present time, the widespread use of masks by healthy people in…
An objection to the use of industrial-type respirators for protection against COVID-19 (as opposed to, for example, the dusts for which they are designed) is that the user exhales through an exhaust valve that offers little or no protection to…
Safe resumption of business and other activities are likely to rely on diligent use of face coverings and face masks to prevent contagion. Respirators, when available, are designed to seal over the nose and mouth to prevent leakage. Surgical and…
There is a lot of conflicting information on the Internet about the effectiveness of chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine for the treatment of COVID-19. This information includes the successful use of these drugs against “coronaviruses” in the past. The confusion may arise…
People argue that respirators and face masks are not effective against COVID-19 because the virus is much smaller than the 0.3 micron challenge particles against which respirators are tested. They compare the respirator to “trying to stop mosquitoes with a…
