Respirators, Face Masks, and Diverse Populations: An Analysis of 3D Facial Anthropometrics

Details

• Personal Author:
  Brazile B ; Hobbs-Murphy K ; Morris K ; Rosecrance J
• Description:
  Background: Previous research has emphasized the importance of facial anthropometrics (shape and size) when considering ideal respirator fit. It is also known that facial anthropometrics vary by age, sex, and ethnicity; all of which need to be considered in the context of respirator fit. The purpose of our research is to quantify the differences in facial anthropometrics between Caucasian, African American, LatinX/Hispanic and Asian American workers. The LatinX population are of significant interest given their higher rates of COVID-19 illness due in part to higher ratios of this population working in "essential" jobs. Methods: The 3D facial images for this research were recently obtained by Human Solutions North America using the Artec Eva handheld 3D body scanner on n=2022 United States participant volunteers. The researchers will be digitizing the facial scans to determine key facial dimensions for respirator and mask fit. Inter- and intra-rater reliability tests will be conducted among the five research personnel that manually digitize the facial points associated with the key facial dimensions. Demographics of the workers were also collected and included gender, ethnicity, age, occupation status, income, and various health and lifestyle factors. Results and Conclusions: An analysis of the demographic data for the 3D facial scan participants indicated that the mean participant age is 34.6 years (SD=11.5), primary ethnicity was Caucasian (61.2%), and females represented 53% of the total sample. Digitizing of the n=2022 facial images is scheduled to take place between September 2021 and January 2022. Utilization of 3D facial data and digital extraction of anthropometrics is expected to provide a greater amount of measurement and fit information when compared to 'traditional' measurement techniques used in previous research involving smaller sample sizes. The significance of this research is the quantification of facial anthropometric differences across racial and ethnic backgrounds. It is expected that this research will contribute to improved respirator fit and better face mask sizing to protect workers and the general population that may be exposed to respiratory hazards such as wildfire smoke, agricultural dusts, and aerosolized viruses. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Aerosols Dust Occupational Health Personal Protective Equipment Respiratory Protective Devices Safety
• Keywords:
  3D Anthropometry Dust Exposure Face Masks Fit Testing Respirators Respirator Testing Three Dimensional Wildland Fire Smoke
• ISBN:
  9783033088535
• Publisher:
  Hometrica Consulting
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Cooperative Agreement
• Genre:
  Proceedings
• Place as Subject:
  Colorado ; OSHA Region 8
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  1-8
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20070918
• Citation:
  3DBODY.TECH 2021, 12th International Conference and Exhibition on 3D Body Scanning and Processing Technologies, October 19-20, 2021, Lugano, Switzerland. Ascona, Switzerland: Hometrica Consulting, 2021 Oct; :1-8
• Contact Point Address:
  Kayna Hobbs-Murphy, Department of Environmental and Radiological Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins CO, USA
• Email:
  Kayna.Hobbs-Murphy@colostate.edu
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2022
• NORA Priority Area:
  Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing
• Performing Organization:
  Colorado State University - Ft. Collins
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Start Date:
  20030915
• Source Full Name:
  3DBODY.TECH 2021, 12th International Conference and Exhibition on 3D Body Scanning and Processing Technologies, October 19-20, 2021, Lugano, Switzerland
• End Date:
  20270914
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:8f41e1a5b7ad7f973dd1dbc718873eaf78aadfe9b542fe92060fa4d3e39e6dc31d9c0b43a4501c501ef2079aaa4decba25dcf2b394bcebdbfa3ca2ce47c5a354
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/209039/cdc_209039_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 2.04 MB ]