App to tackle ill-fitting masks for Covid frontline workers to be trialled in NHS

ActiveCell Technologies co-founder Steve Hammond

Credit: Asadour Guzelian 

An ingenious app that uses the iPhone’s camera to produce bespoke masks for healthcare workers is set to be trialled in NHS hospitals later this year.

The technology, developed by ActiveCell Technologies, works by using an iPhone to scan a person’s face. A computer file containing a detailed map of their features is then sent to a 3D printer which produces a bespoke mask.

The entire process currently takes around 3 hours and costs less than £10.

It’s hoped the system will prevent the use of ill-fitting masks, which often cause skin abrasions if worn for several hours. Such masks are also less effective at defending against coronavirus.

The problem is particularly acute for women, which make up 77pc of the NHS workforce. Personal protective equipment (PPE) is designed to be unisex, but female workers have reported that they are often too big for their faces. 

“If it’s not fitting properly, even the slightest gap around the face becomes a big issue because it’s just a hole for the virus to get through,” said Steve Hammond, the company’s chief technology officer.

“The problem with PPE, especially face masks, is that they don’t fit everybody properly,” he continued.

Details of where the trials will take place in the NHS are yet to be disclosed. 

ActiveCell has also begun selling 3D-printed mask inserts through an app available to the general public. 

The Florence PPE app scans your face and uses the information to generate plans for a £15 plastic insert that can be worn inside a disposable face mask to prevent issues like skin irritation and glasses steaming up.

Plans for future involvement with the NHS come after the Leeds business produced 50,000 face shields in collaboration with Bradford University.