International. To help hospitals treating patients with the novel coronavirus, Carrier launched the OptiCleanTM portable air-negative machine, which cleans and removes air potentially contaminated by the virus. In a closed room, the machine uses HEPA filters, an air management system to significantly reduce the presence of coronavirus and other pollutants in the air, and flexible ducts to expel filtered air.
The machine creates negative pressure so that when the door to the hospital room is opened, air enters the room from the outside instead of letting potentially contaminated air out of the room. If negative pressure is not required, as in a temporary outdoor hospital, the machine can be used as an air "scrubber", dragging air, removing many contaminants and discharging clean air into the room.
"During this global pandemic, it is essential that companies like Carrier do what we can to help stop the spread of the disease and protect caregivers, hospital workers and patients," said Carrier President and CEO Dave Gitlin. "The strength of the operator lies in the experience, creativity and passion of our employees to solve some of society's toughest problems. I am very proud of our team for identifying a need and quickly developing an innovative solution that will have an immediate impact for hospitals across the country."
Risk reduction in hospitals
While hospitals generally have air filtration systems that reduce the spread of infectious diseases, those systems may only be available in certain sections of the hospital. The rate at which COVID-19 spreads has put excessive pressure on hospitals in the hardest-hit cities, where there are more COVID-19 patients than infectious isolation rooms. As a result, hospitals have had to convert rooms that were not intended for patients with infectious diseases, and new field hospitals have been established that are not equipped with hospital-level air filtration.
"The Carrier negative air machine satisfies a significant need in these critical situations when it is necessary to create negative compensation in temporary facilities," said Mark Schwartz, Director of Facilities at the University of Rochester Medical Center, who tested the machine. "As the number of coronavirus cases continues to grow, facilities must expand their capacity to treat patients in spaces that typically do not have the same air handling capabilities as hospital rooms, which are specifically designed to treat airborne infectious diseases. Carrier solutions like OptiClean are necessary to effectively remove pollutants from the air, create negative pressure within the patient care space while protecting adjacent areas and slowing the spread of the disease."
