INFECTION CONTROL VENT HOOD

HOTTE DE VENTILATION A CONTROLE D'INFECTION

English Abstract

The invention provides for an improved method of containing air-born
contaminants emanating
from an infected patient. The infection Control Vent Hood is a mechanical
device that is placed
in close proximity to an infected patient with the intended purpose of
collecting the "sneezing - coughing"
and other contaminated air-streams complete with diseased body fluid particles
emitted from a patient. Typically; the application would involve placing the
air collection device
(vent hood) over, that is: in close proximity to, the infected person, who
would be lying prone,
perhaps incapacitated, in a hospital bed. The infection control vent hood
captures these
emanations and directs them to sterilization equipment or to discharge in a
safe zone.
Technical Development and claimed Improvement in the Art of Infection Control:
Typically, hospital rooms containing infected patients use a centralized HVAC
air control
system. Air is conditioned by heating, cooling, humidifying and filtering by
commercial air-conditioning
equipment and then directed to the patient area. To allow for air in-
migration,
allowance must also be made for air extraction. This leaving air may be
directed to "HVAC
return-air-systems" for filtering and re-use. Typical practice is to salvage
the heated air, filter it,
and then re-use this air along with 10 to 20% of outside fresh air and send
that mixture back to
the hospital room where the process is repeated.
Investigation has shown that a single sneeze has the potential to infect an
entire room with
viruses, bacteria and other biological material. Research has also shown that
the heavier water
droplets from a sneeze may fall to the floor where they evaporate. Infected
material contained
within those droplets can later be disturbed by people walking by and re-
introduce these
particles into air flows within the room where it is captured by the HVAC
systems and re-circulated.
The purpose of this mechanical device is to protect medical personnel such as
doctors and nurses and also other non-infected persons in close proximity to
the infected
patient by removing, as much as possible, those contaminated emissions.
The Infection Control Vent Hood is not intended to replace the HVAC system in
a room, rather
its purpose is to capture sneezes and other air born emissions from the
patient and vent only
those air-streams to safe disposal.

Claims

Claims
The patent investigator will note that this device is similar in concept to
vent hoods used in
chemical laboratories, pharmaceutical departments or even to the home stove
vent hood. The
mechanical properties are similar as indeed, air is collected in each of the
examples cited and
then directed via ducting procedures for eventual removal. The patent
petitioner however
claims a unique approach to the use of air removal in the Infection Control
Vent Hood as
follows:
.cndot. In this invention the patent investigator will observe that the
venting device is brought
or moved to close proximity to the infected patient. Often, as in cases
involving
dangerous infection control such as Ebola infection, the afflicted person will
also be
located within an isolation chamber and in which case this Infection Control
Vent Hood
will provide even more security to the medical staff by providing "point-
specific" air
capture and venting.
.cndot. Variants of this venting device could be developed for use with
infected persons who
are not yet debilitated to the point of lying in a prone position. One could
envision ¨
with much imagination ¨ a sitting room in a family practice doctors' office
designed in
such a manner that air flows from those awaiting examination by the doctor are
captured and eliminated as explained above. The venting idea could be cleverly
designed into the "seating area" complete with reading lights etc.
.cndot. Devices of this nature could also be used in veterinary practice.
Today, with the failure
of antibiotics, infected animals are becoming dangerous and problematic to
treat. A
device such as this ICVH could provide some degree of safety to those treating
such
animals.
.cndot. The device could be used in agriculture infection control. One
could envision plant
particles such as air-born seeds or spores or insects attached to certain
plants that
would need capture pending government inspection and control; again a device
such as
this would best be used in a containment structure but could also be useful
for "point-
specific" air and sample capture even without a surrounding structure.
.cndot. The device could also be used in poison control. Poisons such as
air-distributed poison
gases or radioactive materials, clinging to an afflicted person may need air
particle
capture and confinement.

Description

CA 02913384 2015-11-26
Abstract of the Disclosure
The invention provides for an improved method of containing air-born
contaminants emanating
from an infected patient. The infection Control Vent Hood is a mechanical
device that is placed
in close proximity to an infected patient with the intended purpose of
collecting the "sneezing ¨
coughing" and other contaminated air-streams complete with diseased body fluid
particles
emitted from a patient. Typically; the application would involve placing the
air collection device
(vent hood) over, that is: in close proximity to, the infected person, who
would be lying prone,
perhaps incapacitated, in a hospital bed. The infection control vent hood
captures these
emanations and directs them to sterilization equipment or to discharge in a
safe zone.
Technical Development and claimed Improvement in the Art of Infection Control:
Typically, hospital rooms containing infected patients use a centralized HVAC
air control
system. Air is conditioned by heating, cooling, humidifying and filtering by
commercial air-
conditioning equipment and then directed to the patient area. To allow for air
in-migration,
allowance must also be made for air extraction. This leaving air may be
directed to "HVAC
return-air-systems" for filtering and re-use. Typical practice is to salvage
the heated air, filter it,
and then re-use this air along with 10 to 20% of outside fresh air and send
that mixture back to
the hospital room where the process is repeated.
Investigation has shown that a single sneeze has the potential to infect an
entire room with
viruses, bacteria and other biological material. Research has also shown that
the heavier water
droplets from a sneeze may fall to the floor where they evaporate. Infected
material contained
within those droplets can later be disturbed by people walking by and re-
introduce these
particles into air flows within the room where it is captured by the HVAC
systems and re-
circulated. The purpose of this mechanical device is to protect medical
personnel such as
doctors and nurses and also other non-infected persons in close proximity to
the infected
patient by removing, as much as possible, those contaminated emissions.
The Infection Control Vent Hood is not intended to replace the HVAC system in
a room, rather
its purpose is to capture sneezes and other air born emissions from the
patient and vent only
those air-streams to safe disposal.

CA 02913384 2015-11-26
Drawings and Detailed Description of the Invention
Figure # 1:
The device could be shaped like a large spoon or shallow box called the
"Infection Control Vent-
Hood" (ICVH). The ICVH is placed in close proximity to the patient. The
mechanical purpose of
the ICVH is to act as an air-chamber. The air-chamber captures the
contaminated air and
contains it upon extraction by the suction fan associated with this device.
The Infection Control
Vent-Hood has built within it the ability to direct the air flow to extraction
ducting.
Figure #2:
Located about the periphery of the interior surface of the Infection Control
Vent Hood are
venting mechanisms whose purpose is to direct the infected air flows to
attached air extraction
ducts. Removed air is replaced by room air flowing over the containment edges
of the ICVH,
diluting the contaminated air and aiding in moving the particulate matter to
the extraction
point.
Figure #3:
Figure # 3 shows the ducting detail directing the infected air to extraction
fans. The
contaminated air would be directed to sterilization equipment which is not
part of this patent
claim or to a safe air discharge location such as outdoors.

CA 02913384 2015-11-26
Explanation of patent application device in projected field service: as
presented to Health
Canada in preparation for Health Canada Regulatory Approval, now in progress:
Copy of email sent to Health Canada explaining product design, copies of which
were
also sent to various other medical establishments as mentioned above: [with
revisions]
Brian Wilson <wisemechanicalservice@outlook.com>
I "colin.fosterhc-sc.qc.ca" <colin.fosterhc-sc.qc.ca>
C "wisemechanicalserviceoutlook.corn"
<wisemechanicalserviceoutlook.com>
LI, 2015-10-21 06:31 PM
Infection Control - Isolation Chamber
Hi Colin, below is the email that I spoke of. [with revisions]
For your records, and to provide information for others of your staff should
they need it, here is
a short summary of what we discussed:
= Our company Wise Mechanical Services (BC) Ltd., is developing a
negatively
pressurized Infection Control - Isolation Chamber for use in serious
infectious outbreaks
such as: SARS and Ebola and for chemical, radiation, or other potential health
hazards.
= The purpose of the machine (chamber) is to PROTECT HEALTH CARE PERSONNEL.
The machine will control air-born and other emanations from the infected
patient and
direct these contaminated air-streams to sterilization equipment and
subsequently to
safe outside discharge. Further; the machine will allow medical staff to
perform many of
the required health care duties from outside of the chamber via "gloved portal
access",
thus minimizing risk to medical staff. The machine is large and will also
allow medical
staff to enter and perform intimate but potentially more dangerous care under
controlled conditions. There will be an additional internal "vent hood" that
will also
provide point specific ventilation to again provide additional protection to
the health-
care personnel.
= Additionally, to reduce costs; the machine is designed to include a
disposable
liner. Once the patient leaves the chamber the contaminated liner can be burnt
or
otherwise safely disposed. Most of the control electronics and mechanical
systems are
remote to the patient environment and thus will not need sterilization once
the patient
leaves. There will be sensors for the instrumentation mentioned above and
these
sensors will be included in the liner. The sensors will either be sterilized
and re-used, or
disposed along with the liner.
= The machine will come complete with: lighting, pressure control
instrumentation,
sterilization equipment, electrical wiring suitable for medical equipment
power, and
various other safety devices to protect patient and staff. The machine is
sturdy and
rugged in construction but capable of disassembly and storage.

CA 02913384 2015-11-26
= The expected use environment is within a ward of the hospital that has
been
designated for emergency contamination purposes. The purpose of this chamber
is to
provide additional personal protection for those medical personnel working in
the "high
risk contamination ward".
= The machine will be shipped in a sturdy crate and air sealed until use;
it is
expected that the unit will be kept in "stores" pending use and replacement
liners will
be available as needed.
Thank you Colin for the opportunity to speak with you concerning this project;
I am trying to
keep as much of the above as confidential as possible but obviously this is
difficult to do.
Sincerely yours,
Brian Wilson
Wise Mechanical Services (BC) Ltd.
Cell: (604)220-3257

CA 02913384 2015-11-26
Due Diligence and Investigation:
The applicant has contacted various hospitals, Health Canada and even Canada's
National
Microbiology Laboratory (CNML) and, to our knowledge, no one within these
establishments
has heard of such an advanced approach to infection control. When speaking
with the CNML
we mentioned that we considered our device "to be the best in the world" and,
being
challenged by them on this boast, we obtained names of world-class infection
control
equipment manufacturers from CNML and investigated their web sites and found
nothing like
our product. These manufacturers could easily make a product like ours as they
are very well
funded, but, it seems, they have not thought of it.
We have searched Canada's, the United States of America's and the United
Kingdom's patent
registry believing that their health care systems are the most affluent and
would use such a
product; and again, found nothing like our product. We have also searched the
world-wide-web
using the Google Image search engine, and again have found nothing similar to
our product. We
have also been in touch with one of the world's best infection control chamber
manufacturers
and received literature from them and they too have nothing like this product.

Representative Drawing