A Portable, Foldable Negative-Pressure Aerosol-Containment System (FNPACS) for Aerosol Control During...

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Infectious Disease Control
• Environmental Health

Background:

• Aerosol-generating procedures (AGPs) pose risks to healthcare workers from airborne pathogens.
• Portable engineering controls are needed for integration into clinical workflows.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and evaluate a portable, foldable negative-pressure aerosol-containment system (FNPACS).
• To assess the engineering performance and clinical feasibility of FNPACS for controlling airborne contaminants during AGPs.

Main Methods:

• Bench testing included pressure-flow, aerosol challenge, and smoke visualization tests adhering to NEBB and ISO standards.
• A Lagrangian discrete phase model (DPM) simulated particle transport.
• An exploratory clinical study used real-time reverse-transcription PCR (rRT-PCR) to assess environmental contamination.

Main Results:

• FNPACS demonstrated HEPA filtration efficiencies of 99.994-99.997% with stable negative pressure.
• Simulations showed 73.0-86.1% of simulated particles were captured by the HEPA suction pathway.
• Clinical evaluation showed limited SARS-CoV-2 RNA detection, with lower levels under active filtration (HEPA-ON).

Conclusions:

• FNPACS shows preliminary engineering and usability support as a feasible near-source aerosol control platform for AGPs.
• The system effectively captures simulated aerosols and demonstrates potential for reducing environmental contamination.
• Further clinical validation is needed to confirm containment efficiency in real-world settings.