Digital technologies for enhancing evacuation planning in critical care units: A quantitative, experimental...

Area of Science:

• Healthcare Engineering
• Computational Simulation
• Emergency Management

Background:

• Intensive care units (ICUs) present unique evacuation challenges due to high patient acuity and complex infrastructure.
• Accurate evacuation modeling is crucial for effective emergency preparedness in critical healthcare environments.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate evacuation performance in a high-acuity ICU using integrated building information modeling (BIM) and computational simulation.
• To assess the impact of different parametrizations on the fidelity of predicted evacuation dynamics compared to real-world data.

Main Methods:

• Developed a detailed BIM model of a tertiary hospital ICU.
• Utilized Pathfinder software for computational simulation of evacuation scenarios.
• Incorporated architectural constraints, behavioral rules, and patient dependency profiles, including calibration with real evacuation drill data.

Main Results:

• Empirically calibrated simulations significantly narrowed the gap between predicted and actual evacuation times (2 min 30 sec vs. 7 min 40 sec).
• Consistent bottlenecks were identified at the main critical patient unit exit, driven by architectural mismatches (e.g., door width vs. bed size).
• Peak flow rates ranged from 0.40 to 0.55 persons/s, with higher occupancy leading to sustained congestion.

Conclusions:

• Integration of BIM and empirically informed simulation enhances the accuracy and operational relevance of evacuation analyses in complex clinical settings.
• Calibration with real behavioral data is essential for reliable evacuation modeling.
• Architectural mismatches, particularly door geometry relative to bed dimensions, are critical drivers of evacuation bottlenecks, impacting emergency planning.