A Novel System for Removing Examinee’s Exhaled Air Using an Open, Lightweight Non-Sealing Facemask – a Proof-of-Concept Study

Patients with respiratory infections (e.g. COVID-19, antimicrobial resistant bacteria) discharge pathogens to the environment, exposing healthcare workers and inpatients to deleterious complications. This study tested the performance of SPEAR-P1 (synchronized personal exhaled air removal system-prototype 1), which actively detects expiration and removes exhaled air using an open, non-sealing lightweight facemask connected to a deep vacuum generating unit. Fourteen healthy examinees practiced breathing through facemasks at 30, 25 and 20 breaths per minute; oxygen and nebulized saline were added at later steps. To test the efficacy of removing exhaled air, CO 2 was used as a proxy and its level was measured from the outer surface of the open facemask. Compared to the baseline recording, SPEAR-P1 reduced CO 2 escaping from the facemask by 66% on average for all study steps and respiratory rates ( p < 0.001), reaching 85.55% on average at 20 breaths per minute ( p < 0.001). This study shows that removing exhaled air from examinees using an open, non-sealing lightweight facemask is feasible. Future development of this system will enhance its efficacy and provide a method to remove a patient’s contaminating aerosol without the need to ‘seal’ the patient, especially in settings where isolation rooms are not readily available.