Respirator Fit Evaluation Challenge: NIOSH crowns final winners

Washington — NIOSH has announced winners of the third and final phase of its Respirator Fit Evaluation Challenge.

They are:
First place: MOBOMO for its “Fit and Breathe” app, which detects leaks, or gaps, in a respirator seal using an infrared camera. Prize: $75,000.
Second place: OpenAeros for a quantitative fit tester that “pairs a unique nondestructive sampling probe with an open-source condensation particle counter to calculate a fit measurement.” Prize: $50,000.
Third place: Consequent Labs for a continuous pressure/temperature sensor that uses machine learning to notify the user of a respirator’s fit condition while the respirator is being worn. Prize: $25,000.

Overall, NIOSH, Capital Consulting Corp. and the NASA Tournament Lab awarded $350,000 in the three-phase competition aimed at improving respirator fit evaluation.

“We are thrilled by how each of these innovators rose to our challenge to identify practical solutions that deliver real-time monitoring of respirator fit,” Maryann D’Alessandro, director of NIOSH’s National Personal Protective Technology Laboratory, said in a press release. “For those who rely on respiratory protection to safeguard their health, this knowledge that a respirator fits and is providing the expected level of protection is crucial.”