The diagrams for my two elective activities, eating and

sleeping

My rather persuasive advertisement for the SPECT-R

The SPECT-R mask in action, on its creator's face

SPEcial Counter Transmission device - Removable

"The SPECT-R preventative mask, because you can never be too careful with H1N1"

At last, i have created my final mask. I made a number of functional and cosmetic changes to the SPECT-R design, mainly trimming the edges to give it a slimmer appearance, and more importantly adding the more efficient hole perforations for better breathing and speaking.

All in all, the only thing beyond my control was the wrinkling of the acetate. Putting a flat sheet on a very angled piece of plaster and heating it with a single gun makes this inevitable. I would hope that if this mask ever went to production and use that it would be made using machines specially fitted for this task. The mask is almost unnoticeable as it is, but if it was completely smooth it would hopefully be invisible, accomplishing the main goal i was after.

After finding the wonderfully thin and transparent acetate paper, i used the heat gun and molded it over my face mask, and this is the result. The first true prototype of the SPECT-R.

I used an ovular section of plaster to put over the mouth, enabling mouth movement and speaking (molding it over the lips would obviously prohibit this). It was imperative that it closely adhered to the nose, so that it would anchor there, and this mask makes headway with that. Finally, i tried out different methods of perforations, allowing for breathing and speaking from the mouth and nostrils. Here i tried slits in the mouth region, but i felt many small holes would better screen the area and keep harmful droplets out.

This is the first prototype i made of my mask, by now dubbed the SPECT-R mask, (explained earlier in this blog), made of plexiglass. This was before i found acetate, and it was rendered obsolete. Shown by the red marks it has little in common with the facial profile i had outlined, and its only redeeming factor was that it was considerably stronger than the current acetate ones.

THE MATERIAL

I experimented with two different selections of silicone, and found that getting just the right thickness was impossible for this mask, since if its too thick it would hol

d up well but not be very transparent, defeating the purpose. And vice versa.

So i stumbled upon the idea of using plexiglass and heating it with a heat gun to mold it upon my facial site. But plexiglass seemed too thick, so i kept searching and finally found that acetate paper was the best option. I

t molded under heat much easier than the plexiglass, and was far easier to cut.

I wont put a picture of the acetate paper, because you simply cant see it. Trust me, its there.

THE SITE

I used standard plaster of paris strips to create my "site", my own human face, from the eyes down. I ended up having to create three of them, since excessive heat from the heat gun (it gets up to 750 degrees fahrenheit) caused the acetate to melt to the mask, destroying it. However, i was able to create my final mask on the untarnished mold without incident. Here is the final mold i created:

These sketches show the idea i eventually gravitated towards, a clear mask covering the lower nose (anchor), the upper lip, mouth area, and sits atop the chin. Some executive decisions were made, such as using simple perforation instead of fine netting for the screen section. This would mean that the mask is made of one single material, making production easier, and making is less noticeable, which is the penultimate goal here.

These accompanying images are of the preliminary sketches i did of the ideas i had when first envisioning this device. I knew it had to be as discrete and unnoticeable as possible, and that it had to protect the face from the infectious droplets from the H1N1 flu, specifically the mouth and nostrils.

As you can see, i thought about a variety of options before settling on a clear mask (initially thought to be made of silicone) that would contour itself to the user's face, anchoring itself at the nose and sitting atop the chin, and fastened with a well-holding adhesive.

So i set out to find some silicone, a.k.a. Home Depot.

It's been a while, but ive made some pretty tremendous strides in the design of my mask, or as ive now dubbed it, the SPECT-R protective mask. The name stands for SPEcial Counter Transmission device, and the R stands or removable. Another meaning is that of a spectre, a ghost, something so difficult to see or notice that you don't even know that its there.

The design of the SPECT-R is based on a molded plexiglass mask with a silicone lining and fine perforation, similar in concept to the above picture, except it is far more contoured to the human face. Yet it allows muscle movement, enabling its user to speak and breath normally.

As of right now i am working on the first prototype, and hope to fine tine that and make a final, presentation prototype by this Friday, the 12th.