Assessment of aerosol persistence in ICUs via low-cost sensor network and zonal models.

ABSTRACT: The COVID-19 pandemic raised public awareness about airborne particulate matter (PM) due to the spread of infectious diseases via the respiratory route. The persistence of potentially infectious aerosols in public spaces and the spread of nosocomial infections in medical settings deserve careful investigation; however, a systematic approach characterizing the fate of aerosols in clinical environments has not been reported. This paper presents a methodology for mapping aerosol propagation using a low-cost PM sensor network in ICU and adjacent environments and the subsequent development of the data-driven zonal model. Mimicking aerosol generation by a patient, we generated trace NaCl aerosols and monitored their propagation in the environment. In positive (closed door) and neutral-pressure (

SUBMITTER: Glenn K 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10006437 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature