Cranfield University is working with Q-Flo, the University of Cambridge and NHS England to record experimental airflow data from a modern NHS ambulance under different driving conditions.
The data collection, funded by the Royal Academy of Engineering, examines the efficient installation of filtration units capable of removing virus molecules, including COVID-19 aerosols.
Professor Helen Atkinson CBE, FREng, Vice-Chancellor – Aerospace, Transport and Manufacturing at Cranfield University, who is overseeing the project, said: “We are delighted to be able to support to Pandemic X Preparation at the Royal Academy of Engineering. scheme with our Q-Flo project partners, the University of Cambridge and NHS England.
“There are currently almost 30,000 paramedics in the UK and thousands of ambulances across the country. Airflow patterns within ambulances are complex and not well documented – mapping the flows allows that is by installing filtration systems and reducing the access of NHS ambulance teams to COVID-19 aerosols in their vehicles. “
SCAS, on behalf of NSAFG, is delighted and excited to be involved in this project and is fully committed to working with the organization in an area that has been challenging for ambulance services and the NHS for several years.
The success of this project will be very positive for the patients we transport and care for as well as assisting our ambulance teams across the UK and possibly across the UK. world in delivering the highest possible care to patients. “
Phil Pimlott MBE, Deputy Director of Operations for the South Central Ambulance NHS Foundation Trust (SCAS) and Chairman of the UK National Ambulance Fleet Agency (NSAFG)
The project will provide flow maps from inside the ambulance over a range of driving conditions up to 70 mph. COVID-19 aerosol sizes, which are inhalable, are typically less than 10 microns in diameter and particles of this size tend to follow flow patterns without settling on a surface.
Dr Adam Boies, Reader in the Department of Engineering at Cambridge University and director of partnerships at the Aerosol Center for Doctoral Training, said: “Separation strategies are increasingly effective for PM10 particles returning environments to safe operating levels. after viral release. hanging fragments that remain after droplet drying can remain indefinitely without weakening or actively removing. “
The data flow will help with the introduction of an active virus filtration (AVF) system – TorStranTM – developed by Q-Flo Ltd, which captures polluted air and captures individual virus molecules, absorbing those contained in air droplets, then destroying virus molecules and returning clean air to the environment.
Martin Pick, Q-Flo’s Chief Operating Officer, said: “The collaboration with Cranfield has been progressive and timely. The TorStran iver Activer Virus Filter will help keep people safe, reducing the risk of infection, but It is very important that we understand where the unit should be located to ensure maximum efficiency. “
Knowledge of the flow area is essential to allow Q-Flo to integrate their filtration system into NHS ambulances. The conventional seeding design is at an advanced stage, meaning that a large distribution of the product could occur in the next 12 months.
Work to collect the data is already underway and a flexible climbing system has been installed inside an ambulance for the light source and imaging system. Calibration and testing of the streaming vision system in a mobile and mobile ambulance has already begun, enabling data retrieval from selected areas of the vehicle.
The Cranfield Multi-User Environment for Autonomous Vehicle Innovation (MUEAVI) is used – a ‘smart’ road test environment, the first of its kind in the UK, built next to a side-by-side research airport. within a position controlled by a university campus. the search for instrument testing and data capture at low speeds with a 999 emergency ambulance provided by SCAS.
Data from the project will be openly published, allowing other vehicle designers to improve their ventilation systems.
The project is expected to lead to other larger projects, such as modeling airflows in vehicles using mobile computing dynamics, leading to greater refinement of vehicle filtration systems.
This approach will aid cabinet design and provide levers for further work to measure and model flows in other important transport systems, such as buses, airplanes and trains, where COVID-19 infection remains a known risk. . Any future pandemic will benefit from the experience gained in this research.