Current Projects

CFD Analysis of a TB Ward

Upper room UV Effectiveness

Ionisers for Infection Control

Hospital Monitoring

Past Research Projects

Details of currently active research projects, KTP programmes and PhD projects are

Integrated Design of Hospital Wards for a Safe and Sustainable Patient Environment.

Funder: EPSRC, duration: 5 years, value: £1.03M

Redesigning healthcare building infrastructure to minimise infection risk, meet demanding government carbon reduction targets and create a safe and comfortable environment for patients and staff is one of the biggest challenges currently facing the NHS. Hospital acquired infection remains at the forefront of the Department of Health agenda. Targets to halve MRSA and cut C Diff by 30% by 2011, together with increasing awareness that the environment influences the risk of transmission have put infection control at the heart of hospital building programs. Building related energy use is also an increasing concern for the NHS, with the national carbon reduction targets of 20% by 2010 and 60% by 2050 almost certain to be demanded of hospitals. These two issues present a major design conflict. Improving ventilation to increase patient comfort and reduce infection while at the same time reducing the need for mechanical building services to cut energy use is a huge undertaking.

This research programme will tackle these design challenges from an integrated building services and pathogen control perspective. The aim is to develop robust design methodologies and an interactive computational based modelling environment that can used to evaluate and optimise hospital building design strategies from several different perspectives; energy use, infection risk and thermal comfort as well as patient safety and cost implications. A series of targeted projects, initially focusing on ward design and ventilation design strategy, is being used to develop these design tools and at the same time establish specific evidence-based solutions that address critical issues in existing outdated hospital wards. This will create the knowledge base necessary to establish the best designs for both refurbished and new build accommodation and meet both the immediate and long-term energy and infection targets.

The programme will involve collaboration with a number of industry, academic and healthcare partners

Principal Investigator: Dr Cath Noakes

Development of Computational Models to Design Upper-Room Ultraviolet Germicidal Irradiation Air Disinfection Systems in Hospital Environments

Funder: EPSRC, duration: 3 years, value: £256K

Ultraviolet Germicidal Irradiation (UVGI) irradiation has been known for many years to have a lethal effect on microorganisms. It is routinely used in water disinfection and can be a viable method of reducing airborne pathogens in indoor environments to decrease the risk of cross transmission of infection. Despite recommendations for use in high risk healthcare environments such as tuberculosis (TB) wards, the application of UVGI remains limited due to lack of evidence gained directly in clinical settings. However two major clinical studies that are about to be published will prove the effectiveness of UVGI devices against TB transmission and thus a significant increase in the future demand for UVGI air disinfection is anticipated. To translate these clinical based research findings into successful control strategies tailored to the needs of a particular healthcare environment, robust guidance on designing safe and effective UVGI air disinfection systems is now needed.

This project aims to address this need by developing a design tool for simulating the behaviour of upper room air disinfection devices in realistic hospital environments, and guidance documents to enable hospital managers, architects and engineers to (a) determine if UVGI disinfection is suitable for a particular environment and (b) to ensure any UVGI installations are both effective and safe. The proposed study will use computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations to carry out a parametric study quantifying the factors that influence the performance of a UV device to produce an empirical model of UVGI disinfection within a ventilation design model. The model will quantify the mean effectiveness, as well as stochastic variations, and provide an output in terms of UV device performance and relative risk of infection for ward occupants. This will enable better design and specification of UVGI systems without the use of resource intensive CFD models. Parametric studies using CFD models and the new design tool will then be used to draft three design guidance documents; suitability of upper-room UVGI systems in healthcare environments, safe installation and operation of UVGI systems, and optimising UVGI system design to minimise airborne infection risk.

Principal Investigator: Dr Cath Noakes

Development of modelling tools for evaluating large water distribution networks.

Funder: KTP (TSB), duration: 3 years, project value: £170K

This project aims to develop and implement computational tools for effectively visualising and analysing the connectivity and resilience of a large water distribution network. The focus is on the application of network theory to examine network properties without the computational or geographical constraints present in hydraulic or GIS based tools

Principal Investigator: Dr Cath Noakes

Co Investigators: Dr Andy Sleigh, Prof Ed Stentiford

Industry Partner: Yorkshire Water

KTP Associate:

Development of Ultra-Violet Sterilization Products for the Ventilation Industry

Funder: KTP, duration: 2.25 years, project value: £120K

This project aims to develop a state-of-the-art range of industry leading 'airside' ultra-violet sterilisation products for the H&V industry and establish an R&D function

Principal Investigator: Dr Andy Sleigh

Co Investigators: Dr Louise Fletcher, Dr Cath Noakes, Prof Duncan Mara

Industry Partner: Mansfield Pollard Ltd

KTP Associate:Azael Capetillo

PhD Project : Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) Modelling of Pathogen Transport due to Activity

Funder: EPSRC studentship, duration: 3 years

The PhD project is investigating the use of computational fluid dynamics (CFD), along with other analytical techniques, to model the dispersion of contaminants due to activities in a hospital ward. The project aims are:

• To gain an understanding of the fundamental issues which influence the airborne spread of infection in confined spaces.
• To develop the concept of zonal sources, time averaged contaminant sources that represent the dispersion of bacteria into the air during activities.
• To demonstrate the application to a hospital environment by observation and particle/microbial counts on a hospital ward and the development of an activity index to quantify the effect of various activities on the airborne microbial concentration.

Researcher, Supervisors and Collaborators: Abigail Hathway , Dr Andy Sleigh , Dr Cath Noakes , Arup

PhD Project : An investigation of the droplet spread of infection in hospital wards.

This aim of this project is to work toward testing this hypothesis:

“That the airborne assisted transmission route for certain bacteria may play a significant role in the spread of disease in the clinical environment”.

In the process we aim to obtain high quality data regarding various activities in hospital wards and identifying and quantifying the influences of these activities on the airborne and airborne assisted transmission of pathogenic bacteria.

The specific objectives we are working to are:

1. To identify clinical activities which contribute to aerosol production
2. To gain an understanding of the biological and physical behaviour of bioaerosols in the clinical environment
3. To establish the extent to which the airborne dissemination of pathogenic particles occurs in the clinical environment
4. To evaluate the clinical relevance that the airborne dissemination of pathogenic particles plays in the transmission of infection in hospitals
5. To establish the duration that target pathogens remain viable in the air and on surfaces
6. To identify and evaluate interventions within hospital wards that could prohibit the transmission of pathogenic bacteria

Researcher, Supervisors and Collaborators: Katherine Roberts, Dr Andy Sleigh, Dr Louise Fletcher, Prof Kevin Kerr (Harrogate District Hospital), Clive Beggs (University of Bradford ), Arup