Howorth Air Technology has added a relocatable permanent or semi-permanent ‘isolation room’ to its portfolio – BioSphere – via which it says hospitals can safely contain HCAIs (healthcare-associated infections) and ‘provide absolute biological decontamination’ in just 24 hours.
A BioSphere unit can be erected around a single bed quickly and easily, and requires no remedial works to any existing services. A ward can have a single unit, or as many as needed.
BioSphere creates ‘an individually contained and managed mini-environment’ around each patient care zone, which operates under a negative airflow system designed to contain pathogens and potential sources of HCAI.
Howorth added: “BioSphere delivers HEPA-filtered air into the patient care zone to reduce airborne contamination risk. The air recirculated into the general surrounding area is fully conditioned, with all particulates reduced by 99.995% to 0.3µ (H14), and further filtered using activated carbon to remove odours or chemical contaminants. This means the air exiting the BioSphere unit is purer than the ‘standard air’ in the ward.”
Each unit is ‘standalone’, requiring no connection to other HVAC plant. When a patient arrives in the BioSphere room, they will enter a unit ‘totally decontaminated’ just before their arrival by Howorth’s BioGen Dry Vaporised Hydrogen Peroxide (DVHP) biological decontamination system (10-6 reduction).
