---
title: "UMD, Partners Look for Ways to Make Children’s Masks Safer"
date: 2022-02-08T05:30:00-05:00
author: University of Maryland
canonical_url: "https://today.umd.edu/umd-partners-look-for-ways-to-make-childrens-masks-safer"
section: Articles
---
# UMD, Partners Look for Ways to Make Children’s Masks Safer

*February 8, 2022* — by [Alyssa Tomlinson](/author/alyssa-tomlinson)


> Pioneering Research of Fit, Effectiveness Could Help Lead to Manufacturing Standards

*Shutterstock 1780823546 1920x1080 — UMD researchers are exploring the development of effective masks and respirators for children, including capturing data on the diverse facial anatomy of children. Below, Quinn Burke, a bioengineering graduate student and an MPower fellow with the Fischell Institute, conducts a quantitative fit test.*

University of Maryland researchers have partnered with a manufacturer of federally approved N95 respirators to explore the development of masks for children and identify parameters that could one day help shape pediatric mask standards.

Engineering faculty and staff in the [Robert E. Fischell Institute for Biomedical Devices](https://fischellinstitute.umd.edu) are working with Aegle, a Texas-based personal protective equipment (PPE) company that aims to develop a five-layer children’s ear loop-style face covering to protect against transmission of the COVID-19 virus and other airborne hazards including pollution from wildfires.


*Man working in lab*




**Topics:** [Research](https://today.umd.edu/tags/research)


**Tags:** [Bioengineering](https://today.umd.edu/topic/bioengineering), [Research](https://today.umd.edu/topic/research)


**Units:** [A. James Clark School of Engineering](https://today.umd.edu/topic/james-clark-school-engineering)