Canopy considerations for cleaner airflow

The words ‘ultraclean ventilation canopy’ in the traditional sense often fill estates managers, Authorised Persons, theatre managers, and mechanical design engineers, with a feeling of fear and dread. Entrainment, low velocities, leaking filters, theatre downtime etc., may well figure in the nightmares of many estates and theatre managers throughout the UK. Unfortunately this fear has been founded on many years of bitter experience working with the same old ‘traditional’ canopies, which are very inflexible, and have very rigid and fixed criteria to meet the test requirements of an unoccupied theatre. You can thus imagine the scepticism if you approach many mechanical design engineers or estates managers about an innovative flush-mounted canopy system, which we believe offers unrivalled flexibility for the latest generation of hybrid theatres, plus improved system performance, not only when the theatre is in a static state, but also while it is in use. 

Turning the concept on its head

At Interfurn Medical Systems we specialise in ultraclean canopy innovation. We have brushed aside the long-standing traditional principles of UCV design, and turned the concept on its head – to create a system which is much more stable and flexible, and designed to suit modern-day operating theatres. This article is intended to shed some light on these innovations, and how they may help healthcare engineers, theatre, and estates managers, overcome the limitations and problems previously imposed by traditional canopy design. I will also explain how easy it is to be innovative and still pass an HTM 03-01 validation test with a flush mounting canopy.