On Apr. 6, 2020, to address the need for N95 masks, an interdisciplinary research team at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities designed two respirator mask prototypes from donated filter material by Cummins and bendable components from Bedford Industries.

The masks ﾗ one modified anesthesia mask and one single-use, disposable mask ﾗ are being developed to be close to a N95-equivalent with three distinctive components in mind: ventilation, fit and resilience to supply chain fluctuations. The idea was partly inspired by a process posted on YouTube from the Boston Childrenﾒs Hospital.