The effects of medical staff turning movements on airflow distribution and particle concentration in an operating room

• Main Authors: Mohamed Kamar, Haslinda, Wong, Keng Yinn, Kamsah, Nazri
• Format: Article
• Published: Taylor & Francis 2020
• Subjects: TJ Mechanical engineering and machinery
• Online Access: http://eprints.utm.my/id/eprint/93642/; http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/19401493.2020.1812722

The present study aims to examine the effects of medical staff’s turning movements on the number of particles falling onto the patient. A simplified computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model of the operating room was developed and validated based on the published data. An RNG k-e turbulence model based on the Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) equations was used to simulate the airflow, while a discrete phase model was used to simulate the movement of the airborne particles. The medical staff’s turning movements were controlled by integrating a user-defined function (UDF) code and using a dynamic mesh method. Results show that medical staff’s turning movements have a significant influence on the airflow velocity distribution and particle concentration around the patient. A turning movement generally causes more particle deposition; and bending arms also increase the particle depositions when compared to straight arms.