Surgical Mask Quality Inspection

After the production of surgical masks is completed, in order to ensure that their quality meets the standards, the following five tests are required:

1. Bacteria filtration efficiency in vitro (BFE). This test works by shooting an aerosol with staphylococcus aureus bacteria at the mask at 28.3 liters per minute. This ensures the mask can catch the percentage of bacteria it’s supposed to.
 

2. Particle Filtration Efficiency. Also known as the latex particle challenge, this test involves spraying an aerosol of polystyrene microspheres to ensure the mask can filter the size of the particle it’s supposed to.
 

3. Breathing resistance. To ensure the mask will hold its shape and have proper ventilation while the wearer breathes, breathing resistance is tested by shooting a flow of air at it, then measuring the difference in air pressure on both sides of the mask.
 

4. Splash resistance. In splash resistance tests, surgical masks are splashed with simulated blood using forces similar to human blood pressure to ensure the liquid cannot penetrate and contaminate the wearer.
 

5. Flammability. Since several elements of an operating room can easily cause fire, surgical masks are tested for flammability by being set on fire to measure how slowly it catches and how long the material takes to burn. ASTM levels 1, 2, and 3 are all required to be Class 1 flame resistant.