Local and general ventilation system for an operating room with surgeons and patient

Laurentiu Tacutu,Angel Dogeanu,Ilinca Nastase,Cristiana Croitoru,Florin Bode,S.I Tanabe,L Mazzarela,M.C Gameiro Da Silva,J Kurnitski,P Wargocki,C Inard,G Cao,I Nastase,H Zhang

doi:10.1051/e3sconf/201911106081

Abstract

The aim of this study is to determine how the air flow from a unidirectional air flow (UAF) system and a local ventilation system will interact with each other. The study analyzes the air circulation near the operating table at different air flow velocities from both systems. The air flow velocities correspond to the usual range of velocities recommended by norms and guidelines. The research was approached by numerical and experimental studies. The thermal plume of the occupants (patient and surgeon) were measured by Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) and thermography (IR). The results of the measurements were compared with the results from the numerical case. A mesh independence study was carried out for the numerical case. The study showed that velocities ≥0.2 m/s from the UAF, depending on the height of the room, can overcome the thermal plume generated by a human subject with a moderate activity (100÷120W). The velocities from the local ventilation system need to be higher with at least one step, in accordance with the distance from the ventilation system to the operating wound, in order to avoid disturbances generated from the UAF system.

Highlights

The operating rooms (ORs) have an essential role in the modern society
It was observed that a velocity higher with at least one step is needed for the airflow from the mobile laminar air flow (MLAF) diffuser than the velocity of the airflow from the laminar air flow (LAF)
Another observation regards the fact that velocities of 0.3 m/s of the airflow from the MLAF diffuser cannot reach the area of interest mainly because of the interaction with the airflow from the LAF diffuser

Summary

Introduction

The operating rooms (ORs) have an essential role in the modern society. For a long time, they have been classified as clean rooms, but their complexity tended to evolve along with the medical and technological field. One common problem with the ventilation strategies in the ORs is the impossibility of the treated and filtered air to overcome the thermal plumes generated by the occupants and the medical equipment’s [1, 2] and to reach the area of interest (operating wound) [3,4,5] in order to reduce the intraoperative infections, called nosocomial infections [68] Another common problem, just as important as the previous one, is the inability to achieve an acceptable thermal comfort for all occupants in the OR [9,10,11]. The general goal of this study is to determine how the air flow from a unidirectional air flow (UAF)[15] system,

Objectives

Methods

Results

Conclusion