Fluke 985 Service Guide

Airborne particle counters
provide vital information for
maintaining indoor air quality
in healthcare facilities

In the highly sensitive environment of a healthcare facility,
where both infectious patients and those highly susceptible
to infection receive treatment, it is essential to minimize the
possibility of infection and disease transmission.

One potential vector of infection
that must be managed is the air
circulating within the building.
Failure to correctly monitor and
manage indoor air quality can
add cost due to increased lengths
of stay, expose the institution to
liability and, more importantly,
expose patients and staff to
unnecessary risk.

In an effective indoor air qual­ity (IAQ) program, a handheld
airborne particle counter such as
the Fluke 983 is an important
tool. Used in conjunction with
pressure and airflow testers, par­ticle traps and laboratory
analysis, the particle counter can
provide facilities managers with
the data they need to detect I
problems, identify and address
root causes and verif
ditions ha
acceptable levels.

enables the healthcare fac
manager to:

•

•

ve retur

ifically, a particle c

Spec

ocument baseline particle

D

ounts w

c
Detect when airborne particu­late levels diverge from
baseline or “normal

ithin a specific space

y when c

ned to

ounter
ility

” levels

Technology
at Work

Gain early warning of underly-

•

ing issues, such as changes
in operating procedures,
equipment malfunctions,
maintenance shortcomings or
failure to separate construction
zones from patient areas
Test particle levels after

•

changes have been made, to
ensure that remedies have
been effective

The use of handheld test instru­ments has received endorsement
at the highest levels. According
to infection control guidelines
published by the U.S. Centers for
Disease Control in 2003, “the use
of handheld, calibrated equipment
that can provide a numerical

AQ

reading on a daily basis is pre­ferred for engineering purposes”

-

on

in ensuring the proper and safe
operation of HVAC systems.

It must be clearly stated, how­ever, that the particle c
not designed to determine what
particles consist of or whether
the particles c
threat of infection. Those judg­ments must be based on

orator

lab
samples collected in the health­care facility and cultured in a

orator

lab

ounted pose a

y analysis of particle

y setting.

i

ounter is

From the Fluke Digital Library @ www.fluke.com/library

Sources of IAQ Problems in Healthcare Facilities

The spread of infection through the indoor air is a serious
potential problem in healthcare facilities. Such infections
can stem from two sources:

• Infectious agents produced by people inside the facility,
such as Tuberculosis, Rubella (measles) and influenza

• Agents normally present in the human environment that
can endanger patients who have compromised
immune systems. Such organisms include

fumigatus

Other airb
as inorganic materials and aller
gens, while capable of causing
health problems, pose a lesser
threat to patients. These contami­nants will not be addressed in
this document, though the air fil­tration and air pressure balancing
techniques that help control bio­logical pathogens can also control
odors, dust and other non-viable
air pollutants.

To control the movement and
spread of infectious agents, facil­ity designers and managers
establish special purpose spaces
called Airborne Infection Isolation
(AII) or patient isolation room,
and Protective Environment (PE)
facilities. In both of these special
ventilation spaces, air pressures

ulated to move air from

are reg
clean to dirty areas.

The AII room would house a
patient judged to b

ne infection, such as

or

airb
Mycobacterium tuberculosis or
measles v
from the room and exhaust it out
side the building. High efficiency
particulate air (H

, a common species of mold, and others.

e used to help remove particles

orne particulates, such

b
from the air

­into the room is balanced so that
the room remains under negative
air pressure. Thus the direction of
airflow under the door or when
the door is opened is
space, rather than out, helping
contain infectious particles.

The Protective Environment
facility is designed to keep infec­tious agents out and protect
immuno-suppressed patients and
others, such as bone-marrow and
organ-transplant patients and
premature infants, who are espe­cially vulnerable to opportunistic
infectious agents. The CDC
ommends that PE facilities be
maintained under positive air
pressure, with directional airflow
(from one side of the room, across
the patient to the exhaust) and
twelve or more air changes per

e a sourc

e of

. Clean air is supplied

hour
through H

E

of-use HEPA filters may also be

irus

. V

ents draw air

-

. Air flow

used
open door or leak moves out of
the space, not in.

A) filters ma

P

E

y

Aspergillus

. Makeup air flowing

into the

ii

rec-

PA filters, and point-

ing through an

2 Fluke Corporation Airborne particle counters provide vital information for maintaining indoor air quality in healthcare facilities