Modular Negative Pressure Isolation Rooms for Rapid Outbreak Deployment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional negative pressure isolation rooms are costly and time-consuming to install, making it difficult to quickly respond to the spread of infectious diseases, and there is a risk of secondary infection within hospitals due to indoor transmission, with existing facilities often being overcrowded and lacking in maintainability and portability.
Innovation Solution
A field-type modular negative pressure isolation room system manufactured in a plant in a modular structure, allowing for quick assembly and disassembly, installation in outdoor sites, and easy transportation, with features such as a HEPA filter unit and drainage facility, enabling rapid isolation and treatment of infectious diseases while minimizing the risk of infection spread.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional negative pressure isolation rooms are constructed in large hospitals, then isolation capability is provided, but construction time exceeds six months and maintenance costs are huge
Solution Approach 1:
The isolation room system is divided into modular components (room modules, corridor modules, toilet modules, front chamber modules) that can be independently manufactured and assembled. This segmentation enables rapid deployment without requiring six months of construction time, while maintaining the necessary isolation capability through pre-fabricated modular units that can be quickly assembled on-site.
Solution Approach 2:
The modular components are manufactured and prepared in advance in a factory setting, with all necessary infrastructure (HVAC systems, electrical connections, plumbing) pre-installed. This preliminary action eliminates on-site construction delays and reduces the deployment time from six months to a fraction of that time, while ensuring quality control and reliability.
2Reliability
If conventional negative pressure isolation rooms are constructed in large hospitals, then isolation capability is provided, but maintenance costs are huge
Solution Approach 1:
The modular isolation room system is designed to be movable and reconfigurable rather than fixed. The entire module can be relocated to different sites as needed, eliminating the need for expensive maintenance and renovation of fixed structures. The dynamic design allows the system to be adapted to different outbreak locations without incurring huge maintenance costs associated with modifying existing hospital facilities.
Solution Approach 2:
The modular components can be disassembled, disinfected, and reused for subsequent isolation needs. Instead of incurring huge maintenance costs to preserve and refurbish fixed structures, the system allows for controlled disposal and recovery of modular units after use, significantly reducing long-term maintenance expenditures while maintaining isolation capability.
3Reliability
If conventional negative pressure isolation rooms are constructed, then isolation capability is provided, but portability is poor and relocation is difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The isolation system is segmented into standardized modular units that can be easily transported and reassembled at different locations. Each module is designed as a self-contained unit with standardized connection interfaces, enabling rapid deployment and relocation without compromising the negative pressure isolation capability. This segmentation directly addresses the portability issue while maintaining reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The system is designed with inherent mobility features, including movable walls, flexible flooring, and portable HVAC systems that maintain negative pressure. The dynamic design allows the entire isolation module to be relocated to different sites as outbreak locations change, providing excellent portability while preserving the critical isolation functionality through engineered mobility solutions.
4Reliability
If conventional negative pressure isolation rooms are constructed, then isolation capability is provided, but construction costs are high
Solution Approach 1:
The isolation room is divided into standardized modular components that can be manufactured efficiently in factories using repetitive processes. This segmentation enables economies of scale in production, reducing the cost per module. The modular design simplifies manufacturing while ensuring consistent quality and reliable isolation performance, directly lowering construction costs without compromising capability.
Solution Approach 2:
All complex infrastructure elements (HVAC systems with HEPA filters, electrical systems, plumbing, negative pressure mechanisms) are pre-installed and tested in the factory before delivery to the site. This preliminary action eliminates expensive on-site installation work and reduces construction costs significantly, while ensuring that the isolation capability is fully functional upon deployment. The factory pre-assembly approach reduces overall project costs while maintaining reliability.
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
The modular system reduces construction costs and time, minimizes secondary infections, allows for flexible and efficient use, and supports single occupancy principles, providing excellent maintainability and air-tightness, with the ability to be easily transported and reused, thus addressing the limitations of conventional isolation rooms.
Implementation Method 1
an exhaust facility (to which a highly efficient particulate air filter is applied to prevent pathogens from passing through)
Implementation Method 2
air pressure in the room is kept lower than the atmospheric pressure to prevent pathogens contained in air, aerosol or droplets inside the room from being discharged to the outside
Data Source
AI summary
The present disclosure relates to a field-type negative pressure isolation room system including main facilities necessary for constructing a negative pressure isolation room defined by the legal regulations, wherein the main facilities are manufactured in a plant in a modular way, so these modular facilities are usually stored in a warehouse, etc., and are installed in an outdoor site such as a parking lot, playground, vacant lot, and the like in case of emergency to utilize as a negative pressure isolation room, and these modular facilities are disinfected and dismantled during demolition and stored in the warehouse again, whereby these modular facilities can be used repeatedly regardless of the number of times of use, and can be quickly constructed and dismantled.