It is known that the required amount of airborne isolation rooms in hospitals vary a lot. There may be periods even in big hospitals that there is no need for airborne isolation rooms and there may be periods, like pandemic in 2020, when tens of airborne isolation rooms would be needed. Halton has developed the Halton Vita Iso solution with automation system for isolation rooms which enables flexible use of the rooms.
Patients require different types of isolation depending on their medical status, whereby the nature of the isolation is controlled via the pressure in the room. If patients present an infection risk, they require infection isolation in an under-pressurised room (i.e., with pressure lower than in the adjoining rooms) that protects people externally by ensuring that bacteria and viruses cannot escape. Where patients have reduced immunity (e.g. cancer patients being treated with chemotherapy, transplantation patients), they need protective isolation in an over-pressurised room (i.e., with pressure higher than in the adjoining rooms) that prevents bacteria and viruses getting in. Quite often, patients must be isolated physically, but do not need a barrier created by pressure; in these cases, contact isolation with neutral pressure (with pressure equal to that in adjoining rooms) is sufficient.
With Halton Vita Iso solution if the room is not needed as an airborne isolation room only couple of clicks are needed to change the mode of the room to a normal patient room. Air flow rate and static pressure of the room will be changed automatically to pre-set values. To change the mode back to an airborne isolation room is as easy as it was to change to a normal patient room.
The service mode setting functions as an intermediary stage each time the mode is changed, allowing the necessary
cleaning procedures to be carried out.
Additionally, by selecting neutral pressure for contact isolation or normal patient room usage, the amount of airflow is reduced, improving comfort and saving energy.