An isolation chamber
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing healthcare facilities lack effective solutions for isolating patients with infectious diseases, particularly in operating theaters and other areas where maintaining negative pressure is challenging due to air tightness issues, leading to risks of contaminating other patients and staff.
Innovation Solution
A portable and mobile isolation chamber equipped with a fan filter unit (FFU) that provides airtight sealing and controlled airflow, capable of creating either positive or negative pressure differentials, using HEPA filters and UVC lighting for disinfection, and designed for easy mobility and integration with existing infrastructure.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional negative pressure rooms are constructed to isolate infectious patients, then airborne pathogen containment is improved, but device complexity and construction cost increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The isolation system is segmented into a portable chamber unit that can be independently deployed. The chamber is divided into internal isolation space and external interface components, allowing the complex negative pressure functionality to be concentrated in a self-contained module rather than requiring complex modification of the entire room structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The negative pressure generation and air filtration functionality is extracted from the building infrastructure and embodied in a portable fan filter unit. This extraction allows the complex pressure control system to be removed as a standalone component that can be easily deployed and repositioned without structural construction.
2Reliability
If existing rooms are converted to negative pressure rooms to isolate patients, then infection control is improved, but ease of manufacture and deployment deteriorates due to considerable construction work required
Solution Approach 1:
The isolation system transitions from a static building construction approach to a dynamic, deployable unit. The portable chamber can be quickly assembled, deployed to doorways or room entrances, and repositioned as needed, replacing the irreversible and time-consuming process of structural conversion.
Solution Approach 2:
The portable isolation chamber acts as an intermediary barrier between the clean corridor environment and the potentially contaminated patient room. This intermediate structure provides the necessary air tightness and pressure differential without requiring modification of either the corridor or the patient room infrastructure.
3Object-affected harmful factors
If negative pressure is applied to large operating theaters to contain contaminants, then pathogen spread prevention is improved, but reliability deteriorates due to difficulty in ensuring air tightness
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of attempting to create air tightness across the entire large operating theater space, the system applies air tightness locally at the portable chamber interface. The sealing is concentrated at the doorway or entrance where the chamber is positioned, creating an effective barrier without requiring modification of the entire large space.
Solution Approach 2:
The portable chamber utilizes flexible sealing mechanisms including gaskets, seals, and adaptable door configurations that can conform to various doorway shapes and sizes. This flexibility ensures reliable air tightness at the interface between the chamber and the operating theater without requiring rigid structural modifications.
4Stress or pressure
If negative pressure rooms are constructed with complex ducting and venturi valves to maintain pressure differential, then pressure control is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The fan filter unit combines multiple functions into a single integrated component: air intake, filtration, pressure differential generation, and air discharge. This merging eliminates the need for separate ducting systems, multiple valves, and complex pressure control mechanisms that would otherwise be required to achieve the same functionality.
Solution Approach 2:
The portable fan filter unit is designed as a universal device that can be deployed in various locations (doorways, room entrances, different sized openings) and configurations. The single unit performs filtration, pressure control, and air flow management functions that traditionally required multiple specialized components and extensive ductwork.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Effectively contains and diverts airborne pathogens, reducing the risk of contamination in healthcare environments by ensuring that potentially infected air is contained within the isolation chamber, thereby protecting both patients and staff, and can be easily moved and integrated into various hospital settings.
Implementation Method 1
The key principle is that when an aerosol generating procedure is performed within these negatively pressured rooms, air will flow from the relatively higher pressure corridor into these rooms until their relative pressures have been equalized
Implementation Method 2
a fan filter unit arranged to extract air from the internal chamber
Implementation Method 3
germicidal radiation is increasingly being employed within these intermediate barriers as a means to reduce biological hazards
Data Source
AI summary
An isolation chamber includes a plurality of walls and ceiling defining an internal chamber and a first and second door. The doors seal engagement with the walls. A fan filter unit is arranged to extract air from the internal chamber. The isolation chamber is arranged to couple to a doorway, and the coupling arranged to provide an airtight seal about the doorway.