Gentex+Navy: New Oxygen Masks for Pilots

We're proud of the work we're doing with Gentex and the U.S. Navy supporting the development of new oxygen masks for U.S. and NATO fighter pilots. Oxygen masks are critical equipment to ensure pilots can function at high Gs, but the current designs do not provide good fit for many pilots. We are working closely with the Navy on this. The NAWCAD DREAMS lab recently completed the first detailed anthropometric survey of Navy aircrew in decades. Through a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement(CRADA) between U-M and NAWCAD, we were able to fit their high-resolution head scan data using our detailed head template and build a Navy-specific head shape model based on over 900 aircrew. We've then developed novel methods to use population 3D data, not just linear dimensions, to design new mask contours. This work is ongoing, but preliminary results are very encouraging. The research draws heavily on our recent world-leading head modeling based on medical imaging data. Our current baseline model uses data from over 600 diverse subjects, enabling us to not only fit the Navy head surface data but also impute accurate skulls. This capability is a critical enabler for the oxygen mask research, because the mask seal is determined by a complex interaction between mask and tissue deformation.