Hygienic Design and building materials - CSM

In hygienic sensitive room settings like operation theaters and intensive care unit, hygiene is one of the major issues in order to prevent nosocomial infections. Using hygienic design principles originating from the food industry sector, the cleanability and therefore the overall hygiene status of these sensitive hospital areas can be improved significantly. This will consequently lead to a better hygiene status and reduced nosocomial infections. The suitability of the used building materials regarding low abrasion (VDI 2083 part 17), chemical (ISO 2812-1) and microbiological resistance (ISO 846) is evaluated using standardized test protocols. Using room decontamination with vaporized hydrogen peroxide, an appropriate selection of building materials with low adsorption and fast and desorption characteristics of H2O2 can speed-up the aeration phase after the decontamination of an intensive care unit or operation theatre drastically. Shorter total decontamination cycles results in shorter down-times of these cost-sensitive rooms in hospital settings. A standardized test protocol (VDI 2083 part 20) enables the architect to compare and select suitable construction materials. Tested materials are listed in the public available database www.ipa-qualification.com.