Advanced computing expertise is being used to help ensure that hospice patients are better protected from COVID-19 following a pioneering study led by The University of Manchester.

Computer modelling and simulation technologies have been applied in a hospice – where some of society’s most vulnerable patients are cared for – to study airflow dynamics in order to identify the ‘safest’ parts of a communal area for patients to use.

The Manchester findings informed care managers at the hospice and enabled them to find ways of mitigating any risks and to create an even safer environment for patients, staff and visitors. The pioneering work has also provided a new metric to inform architects when they look to design similar care facilities in the future.

The work was led by Dr Amir Keshmiri, Reader in Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) at The University of Manchester, and his team who used advanced simulation-design tools to map a ventilation system in the newly constructed, award-winning and large community space known as ‘The Green’, within St Richard’s Hospice, which is based in Worcestershire.

This work was conducted in partnership with Ansys and in collaboration with Associated Architects and specialist construction consultants CPW.

“Assessing the risks of infection in a large and modern building for patients with terminal illness who may not be protected by the same level of antibodies as the rest of the population is extremely complex in nature,” said Dr Keshmiri.

He added: “Even as we all begin to learn to live with COVID-19 it should be remembered it is still extremely high risk for patients in a hospice to catch the virus. So, identifying all the risky areas with a high level of accuracy without any field data – as the space we studied was brand new – is the basis of the pioneering science behind this study.

“Our work has developed a numerical framework and a new metric to assess the level of risk with a high level of confidence, which can be used in all future ventilation designs for all similar large buildings.

“This fascinating project was a great example of where advanced computational models can make a real impact in the fight against COVID-19 and any other future viral infections for some of the most vulnerable people in our society.”

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