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

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.

Experimental and numerical study on the thermal plumes of a standing and lying human in an operating room

“…The aspects mentioned above are typical issues related to the design of air distribution strategies and the prediction of the resulting indoor environment, especially in spaces where the dynamics are complex due to the large number of people and equipment. Operating Rooms (ORs) are such spaces in which the dynamics of the air is extremely complex, given the specific environment (multiple human presence and equipment, interactions between different flows), aspects that can affect/contaminate the operating area (Tacutu, Nastase, and Bode 2019;Tacutu, Nastase, and Bode 2019a;Tacutu, Nastase, and Bode 2019b).…”