{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,14]],"date-time":"2026-03-14T18:11:18Z","timestamp":1773511878314,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":37,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"17","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2024,9,7]],"date-time":"2024-09-07T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1725667200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Italian Institute for Labour Accidents (INAIL)","award":["B83C23000220005"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["B83C23000220005"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Sensors"],"abstract":"<jats:p>This study focuses on the integration and validation of a filtering face piece 3 (FFP3) facemask module for monitoring breathing activity in industrial environments. The key objective is to ensure accurate, real-time respiratory rate (RR) monitoring while maintaining workers\u2019 comfort. RR monitoring is conducted through temperature variations detected using temperature sensors tested in two configurations: sensor t1, integrated inside the exhalation valve and necessitating structural mask modifications, and sensor t2, mounted externally in a 3D-printed structure, thus preserving its certification as a piece of personal protective equipment (PPE). Ten healthy volunteers participated in static and dynamic tests, simulating typical daily life and industrial occupational activities while wearing the breathing activity monitoring module and a chest strap as a reference instrument. These tests were carried out in both indoor and outdoor settings. The results demonstrate comparable mean absolute error (MAE) for t1 and t2 in both indoor (i.e., 0.31 bpm and 0.34 bpm) and outdoor conditions (i.e., 0.43 bpm and 0.83 bpm). During simulated working activities, both sensors showed consistency with MAE values in static tests and were not influenced by motion artifacts, with more than 97% of RR estimated errors within \u00b12 bpm. These findings demonstrate the effectiveness of integrating a smart module into protective masks, enhancing occupational health monitoring by providing continuous and precise RR data without requiring additional wearable devices.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/s24175815","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2024,9,9]],"date-time":"2024-09-09T05:06:06Z","timestamp":1725858366000},"page":"5815","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":10,"title":["Towards the Instrumentation of Facemasks Used as Personal Protective Equipment for Unobtrusive Breathing Monitoring of Workers"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"24","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0004-3357-8615","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Mariangela","family":"Pinnelli","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Unit of Measurements and Biomedical Instrumentation, Departmental Faculty of Engineering, Universit\u00e0 Campus Bio-Medico di Roma, Via Alvaro del Portillo, 21, 00128 Rome, Italy"},{"name":"Unit of Automatic Control, Departmental Faculty of Engineering, Universit\u00e0 Campus Bio-Medico di Roma, Via Alvaro del Portillo, 21, 00128 Rome, Italy"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-1507-231X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Daniela","family":"Lo Presti","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Unit of Measurements and Biomedical Instrumentation, Departmental Faculty of Engineering, Universit\u00e0 Campus Bio-Medico di Roma, Via Alvaro del Portillo, 21, 00128 Rome, Italy"},{"name":"Fondazione Policlinico Universitario Campus Bio-Medico, Via Alvaro del Portillo, 200, 00128 Rome, Italy"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-5863-8336","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Sergio","family":"Silvestri","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Unit of Measurements and Biomedical Instrumentation, Departmental Faculty of Engineering, Universit\u00e0 Campus Bio-Medico di Roma, Via Alvaro del Portillo, 21, 00128 Rome, Italy"},{"name":"Fondazione Policlinico Universitario Campus Bio-Medico, Via Alvaro del Portillo, 200, 00128 Rome, Italy"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-8792-2520","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Roberto","family":"Setola","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Unit of Automatic Control, Departmental Faculty of Engineering, Universit\u00e0 Campus Bio-Medico di Roma, Via Alvaro del Portillo, 21, 00128 Rome, Italy"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-9696-1265","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Emiliano","family":"Schena","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Unit of Measurements and Biomedical Instrumentation, Departmental Faculty of Engineering, Universit\u00e0 Campus Bio-Medico di Roma, Via Alvaro del Portillo, 21, 00128 Rome, Italy"},{"name":"Fondazione Policlinico Universitario Campus Bio-Medico, Via Alvaro del Portillo, 200, 00128 Rome, Italy"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-3090-5623","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Carlo","family":"Massaroni","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Unit of Measurements and Biomedical Instrumentation, Departmental Faculty of Engineering, Universit\u00e0 Campus Bio-Medico di Roma, Via Alvaro del Portillo, 21, 00128 Rome, Italy"},{"name":"Fondazione Policlinico Universitario Campus Bio-Medico, Via Alvaro del Portillo, 200, 00128 Rome, Italy"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2024,9,7]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"191","DOI":"10.1093\/occmed\/kqaa023","article-title":"Respiratory health, occupation and the healthy worker effect","volume":"70","author":"Senthilselvan","year":"2020","journal-title":"Occup. 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