"Crystal Student's Mask Genius App Aids Public Health Efforts"

The Goal

The goal for my app, Mask Genius, is to encourage everyone to wear masks during the pandemic by providing scientific data about masks. I obtained permission from the American Chemical Society (ACS) to use information from a research paper that they published about mask filtration efficiency. Based on data from that paper, I created a game, animations, and user-friendly infographics so that everyone can understand the importance of wearing a mask.

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Origins

Why did I decide to create The Mask Genius? At the beginning of the pandemic, there were a lot of unknowns regarding the spread and danger of COVID-19. As counties shut down, my family and I tried to figure out the best ways to keep ourselves safe during necessary tasks, like going to the grocery store. One piece of advice that was recommended by some health officials and scientists, and yet disregarded by many people, was to wear a mask or a face covering. This disagreement about the use of masks made me wonder: do masks really filter out viruses like COVID-19? I wanted to learn more about how effective masks are; I didn’t want to rely solely on what people say about mask effectiveness in the news. Therefore, when researching for more scientific data, I found a research paper, “Aerosol Filtration Efficiency of Common Fabrics Used in Respiratory Cloth Masks,” published by the American Chemical Society (ACS). After reading this paper, I was convinced that there is indeed scientific evidence that masks can protect us from the virus.

I began to think about how others could benefit from learning about mask effectiveness too, and I realized that an app would be a great way to make people aware of scientific data in an interactive way. Additionally, when schools were thinking of reopening in the fall, I thought about how all the students should know the importance of wearing a mask to keep everyone safe— not just teachers, faculty, and fellow students, but also their families at home.

After completing my app, I wanted to see how I could reach the largest audience. I reached out to the San Mateo County Health Department and pitched my app to them, and they loved the app! Over the course of four months, they worked with me to publish my app to the Apple App Store and to contribute to the Crushing the Curve campaign run by four Bay Area counties, including San Mateo County. This campaign aligned with my goal for my app because it focused on keeping everyone in the community, especially young adults, safe and connected during the pandemic. The Mask Genius was released to the public in December of 2020.

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Crushing The Curve

Congressional App Challenge

I eventually submitted my app to the Congressional App Challenge in November, specifically for California's 14th District represented by Congresswoman Jackie Speier. I was commended by her and her office for my work on addressing community health, receiving an honorable mention.

Features

The Game

The game promotes the use of masks in everyday life. It takes users through realistic situations, such as getting restaurant takeout or going for a walk with friends, and they can gain points by putting themselves at lower risk for exposure. In each situation, there are options to wear an N95 mask, a surgical mask, a cotton mask, or no mask. This game also allows users to learn about their decisions and see how much risk they put themselves in. The “risk factor” is determined by a formula that I created. It takes into account two factors: what kind of mask they chose (by using the filtration efficiency data from the ACS research paper) and the situation’s general risk (based on a scale created by the Texas Medical Association that quantifies the risk level of daily activities).

Visualizing the Effectiveness of Masks

I have included descriptions of the filtration efficiencies of N95, surgical, cotton, and hybrid masks. I also created a page full of interactive animations. The animations depict particles of different sizes getting blocked by or passing through three different masks, thus showing how effective each mask is at filtering out particles in the air. Users can choose which mask is being simulated, and they can put the mask up to the test against aerosol, droplets, or both particle sizes at the same time.

Information

Additionally, I provide safety tips, an explanation of the difference between aerosol and droplets, and information on the spread of the virus. There are also links to other important websites such as the CDC website to get more information on how to stay safe.