High-tech face mask, is it worth the fuzz? [Video]

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:

• Businesses have innovated their product selling face masks in a bid to cope up with the world amid the pandemic.
• The AirPop Active+ Halo Sensor mask ($150) is capable of measuring the wearer’s breathing rate and gives advice when it’s time to change the mask filter.
• The MaskFone ($50) is a mask with a built-in headset that enables the wearer to make a call without having to take off the mask.

As face masks become a staple tool in preventing the spread of COVID-19, businesses are now coming up with innovative features integrated into their bid to sell these products as the world copes with the pandemic.

A pandemic-inspired innovation, the AirPop Active+ Halo Sensor mask — costs $150 via airpophealth.com — can measure the wearer’s breathing rate and gives a signal when it’s the right time to replace the disposable filter. It just needs to be connected to a smartphone via bluetooth.

The mask comes with a washable shell and rubber seal, molding perfectly in the face to reduce air leaks which could also make a wearer feel comfortable given its anti-scratchy vibes.

Another feature is that the product can track the wearer’s location, as well as determine the air quality and estimate the number of particles it was able to block.

Another new product is the N95-equipped MaskFone ($50 via maskfone.com), a mask that has integrated wireless earbuds, that would stop the wearer from taking off his/her mask when having a call since a headset is already built-in.

It also has mechanical ventilation systems that are capable of releasing the heat the wearer has produced through exhaling. According to its manufacturers, the product was designed to remain compatible even when the whole world is already vaccinated.

The Protective Equipment Consulting Services principal Dale Pfriem, who is also involved in a standards-development working group that handles federal mask guidelines, has expressed his support for any added feature or innovation on face masks that would make it more appealing for people to wear it more often. Any component to be introduced in the face mask industry can be welcomed as long as it passes the set fit and filtration standards. 

“For me, the simpler the better,” Pfriem said. 

He goes for disposable N95 as his usual face mask. He wears it until it has been stretched out and smelled. He is also not a fan of availing any high-tech feature.

“I don’t want to have to think about it too much,” he noted.

The question now would be, are high-tech masks worth the hype versus the traditional, conventional face masks?

You be the judge.

Source: The Wall Street Journal