O’Connor Company and Price Industries Offer UltrasuiteTM, the Latest Operating Room Technology
Published by MED Magazine
Operating room diffuser systems can be complex, cumbersome and difficult to maintain, but O’Connor Company, a subsidiary of HVAC Elements, can help eliminate many disadvantages that come with traditional systems.
Operating suites make use of an array of laminar flow diffusers that can take up a lot of space--not to mention ceiling-level lighting, the ductwork in the ceiling plenum and ceiling-mounted medical equipment like lighting booms that create potential for crowding and interference. When designing and building an operating room it can be difficult to fit all the necessary equipment into the limited space.
O’Connor Company offers options for more compact equipment, and one of those options is the Price Ultrasuite. The Ultrasuite is a customizable air distribution and lighting solution specifically engineered for hospital operating rooms. The system incorporates lighting into the diffuser, decluttering the space while also reducing glare and eliminating shadows. The Ultrasuite’s laminar diffusers bring both lighting as well as slow and controlled air flow right to the patient, displacing contaminants as required by health code.
Ryan O’Connor, President and Sales Engineer at O’Connor Company, explains, “The Ultrasuite unit offers long-term consistency and a more reliable air flow. Optional HEPA filters within the Ultrasuite filter the air right before it gets to the patient, so it’s as clean as it can possibly be.”
The Price Ultrasuite eliminates almost half the space needed for an operating room diffuser system with integrated LED lighting. The standard size of an Ultrasuite operating room air and lighting system is 16 inches in profile, but it can be as small as 12 inches without a filter, or 14 inches with a HEPA filter. The entire system is compact, ranging in size from 80-100 square feet for a typical OR to 150-200 square feet for a hybrid operating room.
O’Connor says that perhaps one of the most valuable attributes of the Ultrasuite is that it is completely customizable. Some units come standard, but Price can custom design and install a system to fit any configuration and space, including retrofitting the system to an existing operating room setup.
“Operating room ceilings can be congested with a lot of equipment to work around, but we can build a system to accommodate other equipment,” O’Connor says. “We start with drawings and work with building engineers to design a system that fits the space and work at it until everyone is happy with the layout. Those customer-approved drawings get sent to the factory and the system gets tailor-made from those. It takes all the guesswork out of it.”
When it comes time to install your Ultrasuite, the economics are in your favor. One tradesperson can do most of the work, eliminating time, expense and the hassle of juggling schedules of several different tradespeople. Installation is quick and simple, as it is shipped in pre-assembled and pre-wired sections. Installation time is reduced to about 25% of the hours it would take to install a traditional system.
A welded ceiling system, which O’Connor Company can also install in conjunction with the Ultrasuite, offers easy access to duct work, providing the advantage of access points throughout the room. Each ceiling panel doubles as an access panel that meets code and provides the adequate safety level for the room but also provides the flexibility for building engineers to access the ceiling plenum when necessary. Remote LED driver cabinets can be installed up to 100 feet away from the Ultrasuite system so they can be accessed without entering the operating room and compromising safety. The lighting is fully dimmable from a wall switch or a touch screen control panel.
HEPA filter replacement and damper adjustment can be completed from the room side, reducing the amount of ceiling access required for the facilities team. “We will ensure the maintenance is streamlined to make it easier for everyone,” O’Connor says.
O’Connor Company offers computational fluid dynamic (CFD) analysis for all Price Ultrasuite systems. For more information about the Price Ultrasuite, contact O’Connor Company at 605-336-0333.
