CFD modeling of OR air flow (Montefiore/Mount Sinai Hospitals)
Partnered with Dr. Mitchell Weiser, Assistant Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery at Albert Einstein College of Medicine (AECM)/Montefiore Hospital and Medical Center (MHMC), in an effort to model air flow for post-operative infection prevention and COVID-19 positive patients. This project utilizes operating room airflow measurements, including pressure, speed, and direction, to build a computer model of airflow patterns in the operating room. Several different conditions that may affect operating room airflow patterns are examined and modeled including single and double door opening events, the use of forced air warmers versus conductive heating blankets to maintain patient normothermia, the effect of obstructing air exhaust vents with surgical equipment, and the addition of free-standing air filtration units. The goal of this project is to more precisely model and understand operating room airflow patterns during common scenarios to help determine optimal operating room equipment layouts and best-practices.
Theses
- Thesis abstract – Robert Godkin – “Computational Fluid Dynamic Simulations for Validation of Air Flow Studies in Operating Rooms (ORs)”
- Thesis abstract – Mahir Alam – “Computational Fluid Dynamic Simulations of Airflow and COVID-19 Particle Studies in Operating Rooms”
Conferences
- Conference Proceedings – ORS 2020 – Robert Godkin (presenter) and Iram Rahman, et al. – “Computational Fluid Dynamic Simulations for Validation of Air Flow Studies in Operating Rooms (ORs)”
- Conference Proceedings – AIChE 2021 – Mahir Alam (presenter) and Emily Yasharpour, et al. – “Testing the Effectiveness of Free-Standing Hepa Filters Placed in Operating Rooms to Reduce the Spread of Contaminated Particles Using Computational Fluid Dynamics”