Duquesne Students Virtually Design Longer-Lasting N95 Masks

As the need for N95 face masks increases during the COVID-19 outbreak, Duquesne students teamed up to virtually design a reusable mask that may last longer than current models.

Students on the design team include: top row: Garett Craig and Jordan Hoydick; middle row: Frank Guarinoni and Tori Kocsis; bottom row: Justin Cook and Nina Dorfner.
Students on the design team include: top row: Garett Craig and Jordan Hoydick; middle row: Frank Guarinoni and Tori Kocsis; bottom row: Justin Cook and Nina Dorfner.

In a matter of five days, the six students created virtual designs for an N95 mask with replaceable filters that could significantly extend the life and number of uses per mask.

The project came about as part of the Johns Hopkins Center for Bioengineering Innovation and Design’s (CBID) student-run, online COVID-19 Virtual Design Challenge. Student teams from across the country worked to develop innovative solutions that limit the transmission and impact of the coronavirus. The CBID is now sharing some of the students’ designs with companies that manufacture N95 masks.

“It was a very rewarding experience,” said Garett Craig, a senior biomedical engineering major. “The process moved very quickly, and we worked well together, meeting via ZOOM and other technologies. It was great to work on such a challenging project that could be implemented in the health care field and meet an important need.”

The Duquesne design features a removable cartridge around the mask’s mouth area, according to Nina Dorfner, a junior biomedical engineering major. Cartridges can easily be switched when the material becomes too saturated from breathing or contaminated when treating multiple patients. The team estimates that four to five cartridges could be used in one existing N95 mask, significantly extending its usage.

In addition to Craig and Dorfner, the student team included junior Tori Kocsis, junior Justin Cook, junior Jordan Hoydick and senior Frank Guarinoni. Duquesne biomedical engineering professors Dr. John Viator, Dr. Kimberly Williams, Dr. Rana Zakerzadeh, Dr. Bin Yang and Dr. Melikhan Tanyeri provided counsel on the project.