Designing Advanced Respiratory Protective Devices for Pandemics

Textiles for Respiratory Protection identifies emerging and critical issues that directly or indirectly influence the protective performance of Respiratory Protective Devices (RPDs) and indicates important future research directions. The severity of the COVID-19 pandemic emphasizes the vital role of respiratory protection provided by PPE (and RPD) in novel infectious respiratory disease control. The effectiveness of such disease control measures rely greatly on the performance of the RPD, user compliance and proper use. Only an interdisciplinary approach to this issue can lead to success. A wealth of recent research on coronavirus mitigation measures is combined with prior information on infectious diseases, RPDs, and human physiological and psychological responses to help transform recent learnings into actionable knowledge. Fundamental theory, recent advances, as well as innovative perspectives on respiratory protection are presented with reference to applications. Combines introductory material on the nature of infectious disease and mechanisms of respiratory protection with cutting edge research Examines the different material properties that lead to successful RPDs, including breathability, comfort, and recyclability Explains different methods for RPD test, evaluation, and approval from regulatory agencies worldwide