Pitié-Salpêtrière hospital in Paris is working with simulation experts at Dassault Systèmes to evaluate its risk of spreading COVID-19. The hospital is part of AP-HP, which is one of the largest university hospital systems in Europe. The goal of the project is to use airflow simulations to help AP-HP understand what safety measures the hospitals in its system should be taking to reduce the chance of spreading COVID-19 through airflow systems.
Dassault Systèmes’ SIMULIA simulation software can model and analyze how air flows through a room and how that affects where droplets land in a room. The simulation models help design effective solutions to prevent the spread of illnesses.
The collaboration between Dassault Systèmes and Pitié-Salpêtrière hospital began in October 2020 when France was entering its second nationwide lockdown. They began by simulating different scenarios in rooms shared by infected and non-infected patients. They collaborated with Paris architect Arnaud Delloye to determine possible refurbishment approaches. Their goal was to complement the hospital’s existing safety measures while reducing the risk of exposure to uninfected patients and staff.
Through their simulations, they were able to determine the optimal way to protect both patients and staff. The solution involved placing a dedicated exhaust fan above each infected patient. The design is similar to a solution that the architect designed for a Paris restaurant that had partitioned eating areas.
“We must continue to take a proactive approach in helping minimize the impact of this virus on our fellow citizens and healthcare systems,” Claire Biot, vice president, Life Sciences Industry, Dassault Systèmes, said in a press release. “Simulation can be used to improve safety in hospitals, nursing homes and specialized clinics, as well as to optimize the floor plans of hospitals that have not yet been built. This collaboration is all part of our mission to harmonize product, nature and life, and make the world a better, safer, healthier place.”
In line with its mission to increase safety, Dassault Systèmes has performed this project pro bono. Before this project, Dassault Systèmes worked with another AP-HP hospital in Paris, Bichat–Claude Bernard. That project involved rearranging a hospital trauma bay. The goal was to optimize the layout of beds to decrease surface contamination.
The focus of Dassault Systèmes’ pro bono projects has been to identify risks and solutions unique to a specified place. Simulations allow the company to test a variety of options before refurbishments begin, which ensures that the process starts with an optimized design.
The work it performs is a collective effort. The projects have included collaborating with students at Ecole Polytechnique, which is one of France’s leading engineering universities. With its next project, the company will turn its attention to hospital cafeterias. The project will create a simulation to identify risks for virus propagation in two AP-HP hospital cafeterias and recommend solutions that complement existing infrastructure.
COVID-19 has created unprecedented health challenges. In the light of a highly contagious disease, airflow and filtration systems have become an important aspect of workplace safety. Designing optimal airflow systems can be greatly supported via simulation models.