Setra Blog

It is commonly assumed that organizations need to choose between NIST and ISO. Neither is better than the other and can both be used simultaneously.

Maintaining and monitoring room pressurization in hospitals is essential for meeting regulatory standards and ensuring the safety of a space. Incorrect room pressurization jeopardizes the health of both patients and staff.

We recently interviewed one of our sales managers about the Setra Lite. He answered some of the most common questions around this innovate product.

Hospitals and other critical environments contain several spaces that require pressurization. Highly critical spaces require full environmental room monitoring. However, a number of other spaces still require pressurization but do not require a room monitor. According to ASHRAE Standard-170, spaces like this include:

Operating rooms (ORs) are among the most thoroughly regulated spaces in a hospital. As a room where patients are particularly at risk of contracting an airborne infection, patient safety is a priority. A successful surgery relies on both the skill of medical professionals and the integrity of the space. Controlling this critical environment with the proper equipment keeps patients protected from contagions.

Monitoring critical environments - such as cleanrooms, operating rooms, and compounding pharmacies - is paramount to maintain safety and remain compliant with regulatory standards. In these critical spaces, it is often required to monitor multiple environmental parameters.

For decades, hot-wire anemometers have been widely used throughout hospitals to ensure proper pressurization in critical spaces such as operating rooms and isolation rooms.

Inhaling airborne particles can put both critical patients and healthcare staff at risk for detrimental health issues. Controlling these particles is necessary for protecting both staff and occupants of nearby rooms from exposure to infectious particles. To maintain safety in a hospital, it is crucial to monitor both differential pressure and particle counts in anterooms.

Critical environments can have a variety of layouts depending on the purpose of the space. Frequently, these critical environments will have a multi-room setup. Some examples of a multi-room setup are an isolation room and anteroom or a cleanroom, gown up room, and clean storage area.

Hot-wire anemometers are widely used throughout hospitals. Although their initial accuracy remains undisputed, a hot-wire anemometer's accuracy is not stable over time. Hot-wire anemometers must be cleaned at regular intervals to remain an accurate and effective solution for monitoring room pressure. Without regular cleaning and calibration, the accuracy of a hot-wire anemometer decreases significantly over time.