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Extended Face Mask

Assisted ventilation requires a tight fixation of the mask onto the patient’s face.  Most of the available face masks are designed for short-time use only. Hence, they have to be modified to allow for their use for a longer time and, in particular, to prevent their displacement on the face of the patient. Ways to achieve such a construction are explained here.

Fig. 1: Ambu-Face Mask


To construct the modified face mask, the following parts are neccessary:

  • a convenient short-time face mask (here: from Ambu, Size 5 for Grown-Ups, cf. Fig. 1),
  • Velcro strip and frieze band (both of it one-sided),
  • a sewing machine and a sewing kit or a stapler,
  • three plastic components that can be prepared using a 3D printer

Fig. 2: Plastic components from 3D printer


First, two large bands and one shorter band made of connected frieze band and Velcro strip have to be prepared (Fig. 3) The two longer bands are used for fixation of the mask on the face. One goes over the ears, the other one runs underneath that. They are connected to the mask using an octagonal plastic component (Fig. 4). The shorter band ist used to prevent slipping of the upper large band. To that end, the short band is tightened with the T-shaped plastic components at the upper band. (Fig. 5)

Fig. 3: Connected frieze band and Velcro strip


By using Velcro strip, the construction can be adjusted to each individual head. This ensures that the mask is placed firm and airtight on the face. All the required components are easily available and cheap. Hence, the construction can be easily rebuilt and is available for everyone.


To support newborns and small children, smaller masks are required. In that case, our construction has to be modified. These modifications are currently in preparation. All important dimensions of the used bands as well as the electronic data for the plastic components which are 3D printed will be published for everyone once further tests and improvements have been applied.

A video showing the modified face mask can be found here: https://youtu.be/nbvRsaHKcOc

Fig. 4: Fixation of the face mask

Fig. 5: Placement of the bands