Personalized Ventilation Research Articles

Experimental study of ventilation performance of three ventilation strategies using aerosols and tracer gas

Effective ventilation plays a crucial role in reducing the risk of infection by airborne contaminants. This study was conducted in a hospital ward of specific dimensions (41.58 m3) equipped with two respiratory thermal manikins: a healthcare worker and an infected patient. Three ventilation strategies were employed in the ventilation system: supply and exhaust air through upper grilles, upper and lower grilles, and swirl diffusers with lower grilles. The air flow rate of the ventilation system was maintained constant at 200 m3/h. The airflow was distributed 50-50% by a combination of a personalised ventilation system and personalised exhaust system. The effectiveness of a ventilation system and its combination with a personalised exhaust system was investigated using aerosol and tracer gas techniques. The efficacy of contaminant removal was evaluated in both the patient and healthcare inhaled volume. Determination of the clean air flow rate of the three ventilation system strategies at inhaled volume was carried out. Also, the exposure of healthcare worker to the contaminants exhaled by infected patient in the microenvironment formed by both was analysed. Experimental findings revealed that CO2 showed a higher ventilation efficiency compared to particles, independently of the ventilation strategy used. The highest clean air flow rate values were detected in the inhaled volume of patient infected. On the other hand, the highest particle removal efficiency was observed in swirl diffusers with lower grilles, which combined the ventilation system with the PES. This strategy also showed the lowest exposure values in the microenvironment.

CFD Evaluation of Respiratory Particle Dispersion and Associated Infection Risk in a Coach Bus with Different Ventilation Configurations

The COVID-19 pandemic has underscored the urgency of understanding virus transmission dynamics, particularly in indoor environments characterized by high occupancy and suboptimal ventilation systems. Airborne transmission, recognized by the World Health Organization (WHO), poses a significant risk, influenced by various factors, including contact duration, individual susceptibility, and environmental conditions. Respiratory particles play a pivotal role in viral spread, remaining suspended in the air for varying durations and distances. Experimental studies provide insights into particle dispersion characteristics, especially in indoor environments where ventilation systems may be inadequate. However, experimental challenges necessitate complementary numerical modeling approaches. Zero-dimensional models offer simplified estimations but lack spatial and temporal resolution, whereas Computational Fluid Dynamics, particularly with the Discrete Phase Model, overcomes these limitations by simulating airflow and particle dispersion comprehensively. This paper employs CFD-DPM to simulate airflow and particle dispersion in a coach bus, offering insights into virus transmission dynamics. This study evaluates the COVID-19 risk of infection for vulnerable individuals sharing space with an infected passenger and investigates the efficacy of personal ventilation in reducing infection risk. Indeed, the CFD simulations revealed the crucial role of ventilation systems in reducing COVID-19 transmission risk within coach buses: increasing clean airflow rate and implementing personal ventilation significantly decreased particle concentration. Overall, infection risk was negligible for scenarios involving only breathing but significant for prolonged exposure to a speaking infected individual. The findings contribute to understanding infection risk in public transportation, emphasizing the need for optimal ventilation strategies to ensure passenger safety and mitigate virus transmission.

Clinical implementation of advanced respiratory monitoring with esophageal pressure and electrical impedance tomography: results from an international survey and focus group discussion

BackgroundPopularity of electrical impedance tomography (EIT) and esophageal pressure (Pes) monitoring in the ICU is increasing, but there is uncertainty regarding their bedside use within a personalized ventilation strategy. We aimed to gather insights about the current experiences and perceived role of these physiological monitoring techniques, and to identify barriers and facilitators/solutions for EIT and Pes implementation.MethodsQualitative study involving (1) a survey targeted at ICU clinicians with interest in advanced respiratory monitoring and (2) an expert focus group discussion. The survey was shared via international networks and personal communication. An in-person discussion session on barriers, facilitators/solutions for EIT implementation was organized with an international panel of EIT experts as part of a multi-day EIT meeting. Pes was not discussed in-person, but we found the focus group results relevant to Pes as well. This was confirmed by the survey results and four additional Pes experts that were consulted.ResultsWe received 138 survey responses, and 26 experts participated in the in-person discussion. Survey participants had diverse background [physicians (54%), respiratory therapists (19%), clinical researchers (15%), and nurses (6%)] with mostly > 10 year ICU experience. 84% of Pes users and 74% of EIT users rated themselves as competent to expert users. Techniques are currently primarily used during controlled ventilation for individualization of PEEP (EIT and Pes), and for monitoring lung mechanics and lung stress (Pes). EIT and Pes are considered relevant techniques to guide ventilation management and is helpful for educating clinicians; however, 57% of EIT users and 37% of Pes users agreed that further validation is needed. Lack of equipment/materials, evidence-based guidelines, clinical protocols, and/or the time-consuming nature of the measurements are main reasons hampering Pes and EIT application. Identified facilitators/solutions to improve implementation include international guidelines and collaborations between clinicians/researcher and manufacturers, structured courses for training and use, easy and user-friendly devices and standardized analysis pipelines.ConclusionsThis study revealed insights on the role and implementation of advanced respiratory monitoring with EIT and Pes. The identified barriers, facilitators and strategies can serve as input for further discussions to promote the development of EIT-guided or Pes-guided personalized ventilation strategies.

Quantifying human thermal adaptation for indoor environments through field surveys and climate chamber experiments

ABSTRACT Thermal comfort boundaries established through climate chamber experiments are often found to significantly vary in real-world conditions based on the potential for thermal adaptation. In this context, this research aims to quantify the extent of thermal adaptation using a personalized ventilation system. We hypothesize that a personalized ventilation system can enhance thermal adaptation compared to real-world settings with limited opportunity for thermal adaptation. The study is based on thermal comfort surveys in mixed-mode open-plan office spaces of a humid subtropical region (Cwa), and a controlled climate chamber with a provision for personalized ventilation. We obtained 5629 subjective thermal responses through longitudinal field surveys accompanied by environmental measurements. In a climate chamber, 16 acclimatized volunteers were subjected to 140 different set-points with air temperature (Ta), relative humidity (RH), and air velocity (Va) variations yielding 19,200 subjective responses. A thermo-neutral temperature (Tn) of 26.5°C with an acceptability band of ±5.9°C was obtained through the field surveys. The Tn obtained from climate chamber surveys varied from 28.0°C to 29.3°C with an acceptability band of ±3.6°C depending on the ventilation rate. An empirical relationship between thermal sensation vote (TSV) and multiple environmental variables (Calidity) suggests 2°C higher Tn for Caliditychamber, Thermal adaptation correction factor of 2.1°C for warm-dry indoor environment and 1°C for warm-humid indoor environment were deduced through comparative analysis.

Introducing the concept of acoustic personalised environmental control systems (Acoustic PECS) within the framework of IEA EBC Annex 87

The availability of systems that can locally adjust environmental parameters holds the potential to enhance building occupant satisfaction by considering individual sensitivities, expectations, and needs. To this aim, Personalised Environmental Control Systems (PECS) are being studied as solutions that can provide individually controlled environments in the immediate surroundings of an occupant, without affecting directly the entire space and other occupants' environment. The concept has been primarily developed to address individual control of the thermal environment and perceived air quality, as in chairs with heating/cooling functions and desks equipped with personalized ventilation systems. By extending the concept of PECS to the acoustic domain, a framework on Acoustic PECS is here introduced and exemplified. The study builds on ongoing research within the IEA EBC - Annex 87, dedicated to investigating the Energy and Indoor Environmental Quality Performance of Personalised Environmental Control Systems.

Study of indoor local thermal comfort for impinging jet ventilation combined with ductless personalized ventilation under different cooling loads

Excessive temperature stratification and draught are two prominent drawbacks for impinging jet ventilation (IJV). Using IJV together with ductless personalized ventilation (DPV) (i.e., IJV + DPV) has been proved to be an effective way to reduce temperature stratification, but the draught rate around occupant would be increased. In the current work, an in-depth study on the characteristics of indoor local thermal comfort for IJV + DPV operating with different scenarios is done. Predictive models for the local thermal comfort indicators are developed to optimize the operating parameters (including supply velocity of IJV (Vs) and intake airflow rate of DPV (Df)) with different room cooling loads (Q). The results show that the application of IJV can be extended to spaces with high cooling loads (e.g., larger than 60 W/m2) by using together with DPV, but the risk of thermal discomfort increases. To avoid local thermal discomfort, the combination relationship between Vs and Df should be properly matched and this relation becomes more stricter with the increase of Q. It also obtains that the maximum cooling load that IJV + DPV can eliminate is less than 170 W/m2. At last, to ensure the IJV + DPV create a good local thermal comfort environment, design chart about the feasible ranges of Vs and Df are established for different values of Q. On the whole, the current study not only can provide a basis for the application of IJV + DPV in spaces with high cooling load, but also can provide theoretical guidance for the operation control and optimization design of the IJV + DPV.

Toward occupant-centric system: Multicriteria optimization of hybrid displacement–personalized ventilation system using computational fluid dynamics with computer-simulated person

Engineers have integrated general ventilation systems with personalized ventilation (PV) to achieve energy efficiency while providing good indoor air quality (IAQ) and thermal comfort. Previous studies conducted parametric analyses of PV by varying its flow rate and temperature, analyzing energy, IAQ, and thermal comfort while keeping main ventilation settings constant, even though the latter significantly affect the general flow field. Therefore, computational fluid dynamics simulation is performed to simultaneously optimize the above-mentioned three outputs in an office with displacement ventilation (DV) and PV by varying the DV supply flow rate and temperature, the fraction of outlet air being resupplied to inlet or DV recirculation, and PV supply flow rate and temperature. We utilize the Taguchi design to minimize the number of simulations as well as use the “technique for order preference by similarity to ideal solution” (TOPSIS) coupled with Taguchi's signal-to-noise ratio analysis for optimization. Four optimization cases are investigated by varying the thermal comfort and IAQ parameters from volume-averaged to occupant-centric values, such as the skin temperature and inhaled concentration. Results show that occupant-centric optimization presents low energy requirements with acceptable IAQ and thermal comfort compared with volume-averaged optimization, which can be attributed to imperfect mixing conditions. Furthermore, the DV settings and thermal plumes significantly affect the direction of jet released by the PV, which does not improve the IAQ. This underscores the importance of considering the aforementioned effects in maximizing the PV potential. Nevertheless, the PV system functions as intended under a flow rate of 6 L/s.

Innovative High-Induction Air Diffuser for Enhanced Air Mixing in Vehicles and Personalized Ventilation Applications

Innovative High-Induction Air Diffuser for Enhanced Air Mixing in Vehicles and Personalized Ventilation Applications

Cross transmission of normal breathing-released contaminants in a general hospital ward with impinging jet supply: A numerical study

Impinging jet ventilation (IJV) system is promising to improve air quality in hospital wards compared with traditional mixing systems, while previously studied IJV systems for hospital wards were, in fact, personalized ventilation systems. This study investigates the cross-transmission of contaminants in a 4-bed hospital ward ventilated by one diffuser, including the impacts of occupants’ posture and mask, and to suggest low-risk positions for healthcare workers. A numerical model is established and validated to simulate the airflow and contaminant distribution in the enclosure. The results include: a) the supply velocity of 1.3 m/s and temperature of 18 °C maintains an overall thermoneutral environment; b) the supply diffuser creates an overall recirculated airflow though the ambient air velocity in most regions (93.8 % of the ward space) is lower than 0.1 m/s; c) the root mean square of velocity along the height is 0.003 m/s between lying and sitting conditions, and the root mean square of temperature is 0.16 °C, indicating the impacts of posture on velocity and temperature fields are ignorable; d) the transfer of lying patient-released contaminants is dominated by the recirculated airflow, while in the sitting cases, it is dominated by thermal plumes; e) healthcare workers are advised to position themselves opposite the supply diffuser for lying patients, and alongside the walls for sitting patients to reduce infection risk; f) exhaled contaminants flows upward straightly when masks are functioning well. These outputs indicate that the work position of healthcare workers should be adjusted according to patients’ posture.

Technical Advances Targeting Multiday Preservation of Isolated Ex Vivo Lung Perfusion.

Indications for ex vivo lung perfusion (EVLP) have evolved from assessment of questionable donor lungs to treatment of some pathologies and the logistics. Yet up to 3 quarters of donor lungs remain discarded across the globe. Multiday preservation of discarded human lungs on EVLP platforms would improve donor lung utilization rates via application of sophisticated treatment modalities, which could eventually result in zero waitlist mortality. The purpose of this article is to summarize advances made on the technical aspects of the protocols in achieving a stable multiday preservation of isolated EVLP. Based on the evidence derived from large animal and/or human studies, the following advances have been considered important in achieving this goal: ability to reposition donor lungs during EVLP; perfusate adsorption/filtration modalities; perfusate enrichment with plasma and/or donor whole blood, nutrients, vitamins, and amino acids; low-flow, pulsatile, and subnormothermic perfusion; positive outflow pressure; injury specific personalized ventilation strategies; and negative pressure ventilation. Combination of some of these advances in an automatized EVLP device capable of managing perfusate biochemistry and ventilation would likely speed up the processes of achieving multiday preservation of isolated EVLP.

Experimental assessment of the exposure to airborne exhaled contaminants using general and personalised ventilation systems in a hospital room

Ensuring good indoor air quality is critical in hospitals. An environment free from airborne particles can prevent the spread of various diseases and improve patient health. In this study, the efficiency of a personalised ventilation supply system (PSS) and personalised ventilation extraction system (PES) for diluting and removing contaminants exhaled by a patient in a hospital bed was evaluated. These systems, which were integrated into the head and foot of a hospital bed, were combined with three general ventilation strategies in the room. Fifteen ventilation strategies were analysed experimentally. Two breathing thermal manikins (BTMs) were used to simulate a patient and health worker in a hospital. The breathing of each BTM was controlled by the patient (source) generating particles that can increase the risk of infection in a healthy person (target). Experimental results show that using a PES combined with general ventilation of the room reduces the exposure of the target manikin compared to general ventilation strategies alone. However, no marked improvement was observed when the PSS was activated. The reduction in exposure to the target manikin was considerable when the PES was located at the foot of the hospital bed, which is the preferred option for integrating personalised systems in a hospital bed.

Resilience of Personalized Ventilation in Maintaining Acceptable Breathable Air Quality When Combined with Mixing Ventilation Subject to External Shocks

This work evaluates the ventilation resilience of the combined personalized ventilation (PV)-mixing ventilation (MV) system when implemented in a typical office space. This resilience is first evaluated by monitoring the ability of the PV devices when designed at different supply flow rates to maintain acceptable levels of CO2 at the occupant’s breathing zone when the MV system is subjected to a shock. The shock considers a malfunction of the MV system for periods of 3 h and 6 h, and at shutoff percentages of MV fan flow of 100% and 50%. This is followed by evaluating the resilience of the MV system when the PV air handling unit is shutoff for short periods. The following three aspects of resilience were calculated: the absorptivity, the recovery, and the resilience effectiveness. To monitor the CO2 temporal variation at the breathing zone, a computational fluid dynamic model was developed and validated experimentally. It was found that the resilience effectiveness varied between 0.61 (100% MV shutoff for 6 h and PV at 4 L/s) and 1 (50% MV shutoff for 3 h and PV at 13 L/s). Additionally, CO2 build-up and recovery took minutes during MV malfunctions and seconds during PV malfunctions.

Feasibility test of a breath-tracking personalized ventilation (BTPV) system for mitigating the airborne transmission of respiratory virus

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) spreads from one person to another primarily via airborne transmission. Personalized ventilation (PV) has been recommended as one of the effective tools for protecting people from infection. Compared to personal protective equipment, such as masks, PV has the potential to provide a more comfortable experience. A first-of-its-kind breath-tracking personalized ventilation (BTPV) system was invented and tested for feasibility in a simulated indoor environment with two breathing manikins. It basically delivers fresh or clean air to people's breathing zones as well as removes and cleans the exhaled air locally in sync with the breathing cycle. The results demonstrate that a BTPV system could: 1) reduce more exposure to infectious particles (up to 88%) for a susceptible person than most of the commonly used interventions, including surgical masks; 2) reduce more than 70% exposure when the susceptible and infector manikins were within 2 m from each other; 3) work more effectively on the infector (50%) than on the susceptible person (40%) if only one of them was wearing it. The BTPV system thus gives evidence of its superior performance and greater potential over masks and other interventions to protect people in scenarios of all kinds, including circumstances where personal connections are important, high-volume breathing or food intake is necessary, or social distancing is not possible to be maintained.

Chair Fans as Energy Efficient Strategy to Aid Localized Ventilation

Nowadays, the air conditioning industry is deviating from the conventional mixing ventilation technique towards localized ventilation. Displacement ventilation and ceiling personalized ventilation are localized systems presenting a high potential in insuring good indoor air quality while reducing the energy consumption compared to mixing ventilation. In this work it is proposed to enhance their performance by assisting them with chair fans controlling the behavior of occupants’ convective plumes. Computational fluid dynamics models were developed to simulate office spaces ventilated by displacement ventilation and ceiling personalized ventilation equipped with chair fans. The Lagrangian technique was adopted to track particle trajectories to determine particle behavior after generation from occupant respiratory activity. A parametric study was conducted to assess the effect of chair fan flow rate on each system performance in terms of indoor air quality. Recommendations were given to reduce cross-infection between occupants for both types of localized systems studied with reduced energy consumption. The total chair fans flow rate was optimized for both cases to insure acceptable indoor air quality resulting in significant energy savings. It was found that the optimal total chair fans flow rate per occupant was approximately 14 L/s when assisting displacement ventilation while it was 10 L/s when aiding ceiling personalized ventilation.

Reducing Indoor Air Pollution through Personalized Ventilation for Occupants in Office Environments and Confined Spaces

With the increasing focus on indoor environmental quality, driven by the growing amount of time people spend in enclosed spaces, this study presents an approach to enhancing air distribution in office environments and confined spaces. A novel low-induction air diffuser is designed to deliver fresh, clean air in close proximity to occupants while maintaining their thermal comfort. Clean, unpolluted air is pivotal to healthy and productive workplaces. Yet, this paper underscores the importance of not sacrificing thermal comfort in the pursuit of improved indoor air quality. Inadequate thermal comfort may lead occupants to deactivate ventilation systems, negating the benefits of improved air quality. Inefficient temperature control can also result in discomfort, distractions, and reduced productivity. The innovative low-induction air diffuser resolves this issue, enhancing air quality near occupants without causing thermal discomfort. By directing air gently and efficiently, this solution is prepared to transform personalized ventilation systems, mitigating the discomfort associated with traditional jet flows while delivering high-quality breathable air. This research serves as a bridge between improved indoor air quality and thermal comfort, for office environments. It introduces a practical, energy-efficient solution that satisfies the core requirements of a healthy workspace—clean air and comfortable conditions.

Performance of an innovative personalized ventilation mode based on air attachment under non-isothermal air supply conditions

In view of the shortcomings of traditional personalized ventilation method, an innovative mode of personalized ventilation was explored in this study. To investigate the performance of the personalized ventilation mode, velocity field measurements were performed to examine the impact of the supply air temperature on the airflow distributions, and a tracer gas system was used to test the fresh-air ratio in the breathing zone. The results show that the critical supply air velocity increases as a function of the supply air temperature and that the position height of the air attachment formation is a decreasing function of the supply air temperature. The fresh-air ratio in the breathing zone was significantly correlated with the formation and height of the attachment. Furthermore, the higher the position of the air attachment formation, the greater the breathable fresh-air ratio. The breathable fresh-air ratios were 83.3 %, 82.3 % and 84.1 % at supply air velocities of 0.3 m/s, 0.4 m/s and 0.5 m/s, respectively, and a supply air temperature of 17 °C. Compared with the traditional air supply method, the ventilation effectiveness of the the air dress personalized ventilation(ADPV) method in this study is highest. Irritation in the eyes was weaker than that in other areas. Irritation in the lips and nose was an increasing function of the supply air velocity, and no obvious connection with the supply air temperature. Furthermore, the supply air velocity and temperature significantly influenced the sensation in the upper body; however, no obvious influence was observed on the sensation in the lower body. It was verified that the ADPV method was able to satisfy the requirements of human comfort and the breathable air quality simultaneously.

Bedroom ventilation performance in daycare centers under three typical ventilation strategies

With increasing reliance on daycare centers for early childhood development, ensuring healthy environments in semi-enclosed baby beds for napping is crucial, given infants' vulnerability to air pollutants and their inability to control surroundings. Despite concerns about indoor air quality, research on bed-level ventilation conditions remains scarce. This study investigates the performance of three ventilation strategies (mixing ventilation (MV), displacement ventilation (DV), and personalized ventilation (PV)) in enhancing air quality at bed level in daycare center bedrooms. Using a full-scale setup representing a typical Dutch daycare bedroom, ventilation performance was evaluated by examining CO2 dispersion and inhalation for 12 breathing thermal baby models sleeping in 12 beds, considering two sleep positions and ventilation rates. A total of 58 strategically located CO2 sensors enabled a thorough understanding of CO2 levels at inhalation and both the bed and room scales. The findings reveal the superior performance of PV, followed by DV and MV, with significantly different inhaled CO2 concentrations per baby: 1713 ppm (MV), 1104 ppm (DV), and 801 ppm (PV), though the mean in-bed values differed by less than 20 ppm among the modes. Thus, assessing ventilation performance of various ventilation strategies necessitates examining inhaled air quality. Sleep positions and ventilation rates significantly influenced MV and DV modes' performance. Importantly, PV demonstrated energy-saving potential by achieving comparable inhaled air quality at lower ventilation rates. These findings have practical implications for designing occupant-centric ventilation systems in daycare center bedrooms and effective CO2 monitoring in semi-enclosed spaces.

Personalized ventilation with embedded air treatment system for simultaneous cooling and sorption-based carbon and humidity capture

This study presents a novel approach to address thermal comfort and air quality challenges in built environments using personalized ventilation (PV). Conventional techniques rely on delivering clean, cool and dehumidified outdoor air occupant microclimate. In contrast, this research extends the use of these conventional PV systems to deliver decarbonized and dehumidified air using a localized indoor air treatment system. The system meets air quality requirements of the occupant while minimizing its size and energy consumption through the innovative PV airflow supply from co-flow air terminal. Hence, a compact multi-functional personalized ventilation (MFPV) device, employing an adsorbent system for simultaneous CO2 and H2O capture from indoor air, is developed and its feasibility is tested. The device utilizes thermoelectric cooling (TEC) to cool the supply air and regenerate the adsorbent. Mathematical models are developed for the system to predict performance an appropriate control strategy. The models are verified experimentally using a constructed prototype of the device and used to optimize the design and operation via a four-way valve and switching the TEC current polarity such that the flow was periodically guided to cooling and regeneration TEC sides. The optimal operation was achieved with a purge-to-supply flowrate of 40 %, adsorbent mass of 125.3 g of Lewatit® VP OC 1065, along with two TEC modules with a power of 7.2.8 Wh and a cycle time of 7.5 min. The MFPV resulted in 22 % and 58 % energy savings compared to conventional co-flow and single flow PV system using treated outdoor air, respectively.

Quantifying the reduction of airborne infectious viral load using a ventilated patient hood

Healthcare workers treating SARS-CoV-2 patients are at risk of infection by respiratory exposure to patient-emitted, virus-laden aerosols. Source control devices such as ventilated patient isolation hoods have been shown to limit the dissemination of non-infectious airborne particles in laboratory tests, but data on their performance in mitigating the airborne transmission risk of infectious viruses are lacking. We used an infectious airborne virus to quantify the ability of a ventilated hood to reduce infectious virus exposure in indoor environments. We nebulized 109 plaque forming units (pfu) of bacteriophage PhiX174 virus into a ∼30-m3 room when the hood was active or inactive. The airborne concentration of infectious virus was measured by BioSpot-VIVAS and settle plates using plaque assay quantification on the bacterial host Escherichia coli C. The airborne particle number concentration (PNC) was also monitored continuously using an optical particle sizer. The median airborne viral concentration in the room reached 1.41× 105pfu/m3 with the hood inactive. When active, the hood reduced infectious virus concentration in air samples by 374-fold. The deposition of infectious virus on the surface of settle plates was reduced by 87-fold. This was associated with a 109-fold reduction in total airborne particle number escape rate. A personal ventilation hood significantly reduced airborne particle escape, considerably lowering infectious virus contamination in an indoor environment. Our findings support the further development of source control devices to mitigate nosocomial infection risk among healthcare workers exposed to airborne viruses in clinical settings.

Effectiveness of personalized ventilation in reducing airborne infection risk for long-term care facilities

Throughout history, the human population has experienced major outbreaks of infectious diseases. In December 2019 the previously unknown SARS-CoV-2 virus emerged, which had a huge impact globally. Residents of long- term care facilities (LTCFs) showed to be highly susceptible to infection due to their frailty. Respiratory infectious diseases, such as COVID-19, can spread among others via the airborne transmission route. This is caused by sharing the same indoor environment. To reduce the risk of infection via the airborne route, it is important to consider ventilation and other building services system measures, including personalized ventilation (PV). PV has the potential of being a suitable solution for LTCFs, as it could still allow interaction between residents and visitors in the common rooms, which is regarded very important from a mental health perspective. To identify the potential of PV in the context of infection risk, a laboratory experiment was conducted to investigate its effectiveness on the infection risk reduction. The research was performed in a controlled climate chamber. In the experiment a person was mimicked and positioned close to a PV system that provided filtered recirculated air. A particle source maintained a constant particle concentration in the room. The performance of the PV system was measured through the particle concentration near the breathing zone as compared to the room concentration. Several design parameters were investigated. Translating the outcomes to a fictive (equivalent) ventilation rate, the Wells-Riley equation was applied to determine the infection risk. The outcomes indicated that, in this laboratory setting, the PV system can reduce the risk of an infection up to 50%. The performance is affected by the distance of the supply head to the breathing zone, the angle of the supply head, airflows in the room and the location of the particle source. To further optimize the system and allow its application in LTCFs, several aspects still need further attention, such as mobility/placing the person, the breathing pattern of the user and factors influencing the comfort and use.