INDEPENDENT REVIEW BY THE BUILDING SERVICES RESEARCH AND INFORMATION ASSOCIATION.

INDEPENDENT REVIEW BY THE BUILDING SERVICES RESEARCH AND INFORMATION ASSOCIATION.

 According to an independent review by the Building Services Research and Information Association, reducing the air permeability of an isolation suite has a number of distinct benefits:

·A degree of passive protection is provided against contamination to or from adjacent areas.

·     The ventilation system is able to be balanced and commissioned correctly.

·     The pressure stabiliser can be specified accurately and can operate correctly.

·     During fumigation, less fumigant will escape to adjacent areas.

·     In the event of fan failure, the walls will become the first barrier against infection.

·     If the leakage through the fabric is too high, the design supply and extract airflow rates may not be sufficient to pressurize the rooms or for the pressure stabiliser to operate correctly. Making up for high air permeability by increasing supply and extract flow rates is not considered desirable. A better option would be to achieve lower air permeability.                            

An ICU ward is therefore far safer in terms of risk of infection spread; if the air permeability of its envelope can be quantified and if crucial leakage points can be identified and repaired. It is for this reason that Coltraco Ultrasonics won the right to a competitive government grant to innovate in this area and for this reason too that the end product has been independently declared outstanding in its field.