Operating room ventilation plays a significant role in reducing bacteria carrying particles concentration and preventing post-operative infections. The ventilation airflow may be disturbed by objects and heat loads and their effectiveness in reducing bacteria concentration can be compromised. Surgical lamps are one of the major disturbances in an operating room. This study numerically investigated the influence of lamp shapes on airflow patterns and dispersion of airborne bacteria.

Two different shapes of lamps were studied: a closed-shape and an open-shape lamp. The simulation was performed based on the physical configuration of two operating rooms ventilated respectively by laminar airflow and temperature controlled airflow. Results show that the closed-shape lamp severely obstructs the airflow and results in high bacteria concentration in the laminar airflow, whereas the open-shape lamp has a negligible impact on the particle dispersion. The temperature controlled airflow is less sensitive to obstructions and maintains a clean surgical site with both types of lamps.