IHDA members work continuously to bring the latest research and technological advances to hospital design and construction. Being part of a Finnish top research and co-innovation project helps IHDA boost health safety in hospitals.

Indoor air quality linked directly to health
The correlation between air quality and spread of infections has in no means been universally recognised before the Covid-19 pandemic. In fact, it took the World Health Organisation (WHO) nearly two years to acknowledge that Covid-19 was an airborne virus.

“For built environment professionals the association of clean indoor air and well-functioning ventilation in keeping people healthy was a given because of our practical experience and knowledge on HVAC engineering”, says Piia Sormunen, Director of Business Development at Granlund and Industry Professor of Building Services at Finnish Tampere university.

“In E3 we set out to prove this link and find innovative solutions for the built environment to keep its residents healthier”.

What is E3?
E3 or Excellence in Pandemic Response and Enterprise Solutions, is a 3-year Finnish research and co-innovation project. Combining the latest scientific and technological knowledge, E3 aims to prevent and minimise the spreading of infectious diseases like the Covid-19. E3 focuses on creating indoor health safety solutions that keep the wheels of society moving during epidemics and pandemics in the future.

In E3, 22 companies including IHDA members Granlund and AINS Group and 7 research organisations such as Tampere and Helsinki universities and Helsinki University Hospital join forces. The 12 million € project is financed by Business Finland.

One of the main research and development areas in E3 is safer healthcare and hospital environments. E3 studies and develops new technologies to improve indoor health safety in hospitals.

Romanian infection hospital Matei Bals as an international pilot
Located in Bucharest, Romania, the Matei Bals hospital specialises in treating infections such as tuberculosis, other respiratory infections, and measles. The hospital – named after a renowned Romanian bacteriologist – dates to the 1950s and has natural ventilation.

Through IHDA and local Finnish embassy the research team led by Granlund’s Piia Sormunen were able to contact Matei Bals.

“The hospital management at Matei Bals was welcoming to the idea of becoming the international pilot hospital for E3. The project was launched in late 2022”, says Piia Sormunen. “The collaboration between the E3 research team and the hospital’s medical, technical and laboratory personnel worked fluently”.

How was the study conducted?
Pathogens such as Covid viruses attach to particles like dust flowing in the air. E3 aimed to find out if the risk of airborne infections could be diminished by using air purification units to reduce pathogen carrying particles from the air. Based on the results of the study, Granlund also provides the Matei Bals hospital with specific plans for improving the ventilation and indoor air quality in the facilities.

First the research team measured the existing indoor air quality and analysed the state of ventilation in the hospital. Finnish air purification units by Air0 and Inspector Sec were installed in the spaces chosen for the study – spaces with high-risk for airborne infections including Covid patient room, ICU room and patient waiting area. The researchers then measured the effects of the air purification units on air quality within the selected spaces.

Encouraging findings especially for crowded hospital hot spots
The pilot study showed that in a naturally ventilated hospital, air purifiers minimise the spreading of pathogens and effectively protect both patients and hospital personnel from airborne infections.

For example, the particle ratio in Covid patient room was cut by 82 % and by 74 % in the ICU room. In the patient waiting area the particle reduction was over 40 %. As the researchers noted, the reduction would have been bigger also in the waiting if the long, windowless space had been equipped with two air purification units instead of one.

It’s not always possible or realistic to renew the entire ventilation especially in aged buildings. “Air purification systems are a cost-effective, fast and non-invasive solution for crowded hot spot spaces”, says Piia Sormunen.

Protecting the personnel working in the spaces for long periods is essential. Air purifiers are also effective for shielding delicate patients such as cancer patients from airborne infections.

“As air purifiers remove pathogen carrying particles from the air, they prevent infections from transferring between spaces, for example from patient rooms to the corridors and on to another patient room or staff facilities”, describes Piia Sormunen.

Air purifiers help enhance air hygiene in operating rooms. Similarly, they offer an instant way to improve air quality in spaces with varying degrees of usage.

Modularity in design promotes the use of innovative solutions
New scientifically verified solutions for preventing the spread of airborne infections are vital to planning health secure facilities, especially critical facilities as hospitals.

E3 helps innovate and launch novel design solutions for both renovations, new construction, and space-specific ventilation. As part of the project IHDA team has also advanced the modularity in design which increases the flexibility and efficiency in introducing modern hospital technology.

“The modular design method we’ve studied ensures a safe and functional basic solution that can be tailored depending on the country, regulations, treatment process etc. The great advantage of modularity is that it offers a way to carry out improvements swiftly”, states Anssi Hakarinne, Head of MedTech from AINS Group.

Research also provides new data for more accurate scaling of ventilation. The whole life cycle of ventilation systems is considered to make sure it serves the hospital users as long as possible and is adaptable to changing needs over time.

With Nordic experience and expertise on high-quality ventilation, IHDA offers hospitals also a strong maintenance culture.

Further information:

Piia Sormunen
Development Director, Granlund
piia.sormunen@granlund.fi

Anssi Hakarinne
Head of MedTech, AINS Group
anssi.hakarinne@ains.fi