“TcAF ventilation is energy efficient and provides a comfortable working environment”
(c) Van Gaever, R., Jacobs, V. A., Diltoer, M., Peeters, L., & Vanlanduit, S. (2014)
Thermal comfort in operating room must be achieved for all members of the surgical staff. Thermalk comfort of the surgical staff in the operating room. Building and Environment, 81, 37-41.
The indoor environmental quality in an operating room affects not only the patient health but also the well-being of the surgical staff. However, a surgical environment restricts the ability for people to adapt to the climate in the environment by prescribing specific clothing and environmental regulations. International technical HVAC standards and guidelines control the indoor air quality by prescribing the use of a LAF system for infection- sensitive surgery. Therefore, the design parameters of the LAF play an important role in the thermal sensation of the staff. This article states that it is impossible to achieve thermal comfort for all members of the surgical staff with the current design parameters of the LAF system, according to ISO 7730. By performing a survey at four major Belgium hospitals this discrepancy between the technical HVAC standards and thermal comfort standard has been revealed. The results show it is not possible to achieve thermal comfort for each member of the surgical staff by only revising the HVAC standards but an adaptation of the ventilation and surgical luminaire system to meet the thermal needs of the surgical staff without losing the protective properties to prevent SSI is necessary.
(b) Alsved, M., Civilis, A., Ekolind, P., Tammelin, A., Erichsen Andersson, A., Jakobsson, J., Svensson, T., Ramstorp, M., Santl-Temkiv, T., Larsson, P.-A., Bohgard, M. & Löndahl, J. (2017)
Airborne bacteria in hospital operating theatres during surgery. In: 12. Ulmer Symposium Krankenhausinfektionen, Epidemiologie Hygienemassnahmen Antibiotikaprophylaxe. Ulm, Germany, March 15-17 2017, 50-51.
The results from the study (Van Gaever et al, 2014) were also presented on the conference Ulmer Symposium Krankenhausinfektionen, Epidemiologie Hygienemassnahmen Antibiotikaprophylaxe in March 2017 by M. Alsved from Lund University.
(a) Löndahl, J., Ekolind, P., Tammelin, A., Ramstorp, M., Civilis, A. & Larsson, P.-A.(2017)
TAF ventilation is in this study observed to consume 28% less energy than LAF, related to the almost double airflow volume in LAF. TAF requires lower airspeed than LAF, since the air supplied above the surgical zone has a slightly lower temperature, i.e. higher density than the rest of the room. The higher density of the cooled air causes it to fall at a speed dictated by this temperature difference and lower airspeed is required. The same report also states that the impact of the TAF system on the staff work environment from draught and noise levels also were significantly lower compared to laminar airflow which is primarily due to reduced airspeed.
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