Air Ambulance Victoria, Essendon Fields, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
Pel-Air Aviation Pty Ltd, Essendon Fields, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
Air Med J. 2021 Jan-Feb;40(1):54-59. doi: 10.1016/j.amj.2020.10.005. Epub 2020 Nov 2.
The aeromedical transport of coronavirus patients presents risks to clinicians and aircrew. Patient positioning and physical barriers may provide additional protection during flight. This paper describes airflow testing undertaken on fixed wing and rotary wing aeromedical aircraft.
Airflow testing was undertaken on a stationary Hawker Beechcraft B200C and Leonardo Augusta Westland 139. Airflow was simulated using a Trainer 101 (MSS Professional A/S, Odense Sø, Syddanmark, Denmark) Smoke machine. Different cabin configurations were used along with variations in heating, cooling, and ventilation systems.
For the Hawker Beechcraft B200C, smoke generated within the forward section of the cabin was observed to fill the cabin to a fluid boundary located in-line with the forward edge of the cargo door. With the curtain closed, smoke was only observed to enter the cockpit in very small quantities. For the Leonardo AW139, smoke generated within the cabin was observed to expand to fill the cabin evenly before dissipating. With the curtain closed, smoke was observed to enter the cockpit only in small quantities CONCLUSION: The use of physical barriers in fixed wing and rotary wing aeromedical aircraft provides some protection to aircrew. Optimal positioning of the patient is on the aft stretcher on the Beechcraft B200C and on a laterally orientated stretcher on the AW139. The results provide a baseline for further investigation into methods to protect aircrew during the coronavirus pandemic.
冠状病毒患者的航空医疗转运对临床医生和机组人员存在风险。患者的定位和物理屏障可能在飞行过程中提供额外的保护。本文描述了在固定翼和旋转翼航空医疗飞机上进行的气流测试。
在静止的霍克比奇 B200C 和莱昂纳多 Augusta Westland 139 上进行了气流测试。使用 Trainer 101（MSS Professional A/S，丹麦欧登塞）烟雾机模拟气流。使用了不同的机舱配置，并改变了加热、冷却和通风系统。
对于霍克比奇 B200C，观察到机舱前舱内产生的烟雾充满了位于货舱门前缘的流线型边界。当幕布关闭时，只有少量烟雾进入驾驶舱。对于莱昂纳多 AW139，观察到机舱内产生的烟雾均匀扩展到充满机舱，然后消散。当幕布关闭时，只有少量烟雾进入驾驶舱。
在固定翼和旋转翼航空医疗飞机中使用物理屏障为机组人员提供了一定的保护。将患者最佳定位在 B200C 的后担架上，在 AW139 上则是侧向放置的担架上。该结果为在冠状病毒大流行期间保护机组人员的方法提供了进一步研究的基础。
