Facing COVID-19 Challenges With Our Customers and Partners

Disinfect airline cabins with UV light

Supplementing, or potentially replacing, manual disinfection of surfaces with an automatic ultraviolet (UV) light treatment system can increase the certainty that any presence of the virus is deactivated. Simulation can be used to design UV light treatment systems for various environments and to ensure sufficient doses of UV light are delivered to deactivate viruses.

Consider wind when social distancing

A peer reviewed study led by Prof Yu Feng from Oklahoma State University investigated the influence of wind on droplets exuded when coughing or sneezing. Simulation demonstrates how droplets travel from person to person in the event of a gentle, light and moderate wind, with and without a mask.

Reduce the risk of transmission with cloth masks

People are turning to homemade, reusable cloth face masks as a protective measure to reduce the risk of transmission of COVID-19. Simulations illustrate that cloth masks have the potential to limit the spread of droplets from sneezing and coughing and to eliminate the reach of more dangerous larger droplets.

Maintain social distancing

Viral droplets spread quickly throughout the air. The droplets from a cough will spread to the face, neck and clothing of someone one meter away. At two meters, the risk decreases significantly because gravity pulls the carrier droplets to the ground.

Leave additional space when exercising

Standard social distancing guidelines are insufficient when exercising outside. Analysis by Ansys partners Bert Blocken and Fabio Malizia at TUe & KU Leuven has revealed that substantially more space is required to avoid droplets from the runner or cyclist in front of you.

Wear a mask

Masks can reduce the risk of contaminating others by up to 6 times. Adjustments can be made to ensure masks are sealed properly to reduce the risk of possible exposure.

Fit the mask properly

Wearing a face mask correctly for an extended period can be uncomfortable and cause irritation, however, it is necessary to ensure the effectiveness of the mask.

Negative pressure room

In today's highly contagious environment, it is extremely important to minimize risk to doctors and health care staff attending to COVID-19 positive patients. Negative pressure rooms (NPRs) can help to reduce healthcare staff's exposure to the virus while attending patients. Simulation demonstrates different room designs of NPRs and enables teams to optimize the room design, inlet vent placement and blower capacity to avoid oral and nasal plumes from recirculating in the room.

Ansys collaborates with IIT Kanpur led consortium to develop Nocca ventilators

Ansys collaborated with an IIT Kanpur-led consortium to assist in the development of Noccarc V310, an indigenous, reliable and safe ventilator to fight the COVID-19 outbreak in India. NOCCA Robotics Pvt. Ltd used Ansys to design and optimize ventilators that it can be manufactured on a large scale at multiple sites using materials easily available with Indian suppliers and manufacturers. A CFD study using Ansys Fluent provided a detailed flow field of a conduit with different sensor tappings for the flow circuit of a ventilator. The animation shows the air velocity and the vortices formed in the conduit, enabling engineers to optimize sensor locations.

ExOne and Pitt produced promising reusable respirators with 3D printed metal filters

ExOne and Pitt produced promising reusable respirators with 3D printed metal filters. Ansys provided simulation support to analyze and optimize the performance of the filters in different metals and porosities.

Quickly Designing Safe and Reliable Ventilators

Bessel LLC worked with a team of doctors and engineers from Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center at El Paso (TTUHSC) and The University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) to develop the Texas Power Bag Breather (Texas Breather™). Working with Ansys simulation solutions, in a matter of a few weeks instead of months, a new emergency care device was designed and extensively tested to demonstrate its ability to safely meet required emergency ventilatory support performance during its expected life cycle.*

*Please note that an FDA Emergency Use Authorization is pending. The Texas Breather™ has not been cleared or approved by the US FDA or any other regulatory agency. The Texas Breather™ is not currently authorized for emergency use.

Decontaminate masks with UV-C treatment

Time effective UV decontamination of worn masks is a promising solution to prevent the shortage of clean masks for healthcare workers. Simulation enables sterilizer designers to ensure that each potentially contaminated personal protective equipment (PPE) surface will receive the necessary dose of UV irradiation.

Disinfection

Decontaminating rooms and facilities – whether in preparation for patients or in places where the virus has been identified – helps contain the spread of the virus and protect the health of the vulnerable. Simulations performed by Ansys partner InSilicoTrials Technologies optimizes the decontamination process to ensure clean rooms.

Vaccine production

Once a vaccine has been identified, one of the biggest challenges facing the biopharma industry is scaling up the production of the vaccine from laboratory to industrial scale. By using simulation in a virtual environment, drug companies can increase their chances of getting the scale-up process right the first time.

Ventilator design and manufacturing

The medical device industry uses simulation to optimize the design of ventilators. Physics-based simulation is the most effective method to accelerate product development and ensure these devices reach those in need as quickly as possible. Modeling work performed by ARELabs.

Inhalation and drug delivery

By modeling how inhalers deliver medication to the lungs, simulation helps medical device companies improve inhaler design and helps physicians train their patients on how to use the inhalers for greatest effect. Modeling done by Dr. Yu Feng's Computational Biofluidics and Biomechanics Laboratory at Oklahoma State University

Room contamination during respiratory therapy

Liberty University Professor of Mechanical Engineering Dr. Wayne Strasser was recently asked by a company focused on the development of respiratory therapy products to aid them in their research on the spread of COVID-19. The team used Ansys simulation solutions to study the exhale of atomized droplets of saliva and mucus during respiratory therapy in a hospital room.

Mobile COVID-19 Sample Collection Booths

Testing a large number of people in a short period of time is key to reducing infection at the community level. Building new facilities at hospitals or sample collection labs is time-consuming and may not be suitable for mass deployment. Mobile COVID-19 sample collection booths can be assembled quickly, moved to different regions and facilitate mass sample collection. Using Ansys simulations, designers can quickly optimize the design of a mobile sample collection booth to meet the required BSL-2 standards.