SYSTEM FOR MONITORING THE PROBABILITY OF VIRAL DISEASE TRANSMISSION

Abstract

A system for assessing an indoor space for favorable conditions for the transmission of a viral particle is disclosed. A set of sensors measure a set of environmental parameters, and a processor is configured to combine the measured set of environmental parameters into a single scale of numerical or descriptive value representing the favorability of viral transmission in the indoor space.

Claims

1. A system for assessing an indoor space for favorable conditions for the transmission of a viral particle, comprising: a) a set of occupancy sensors to determine a Carbon dioxide parameter for the indoor space; b) a set of environmental sensors to determine a set of environmental parameters for the indoor space, and c) a processor configured to determine a Viral Transmission Score (VTS) for the indoor space based on the Carbon dioxide parameter, the set of environmental parameters and a fresh air intake rate.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the set of occupancy sensors comprise one or more of a CO2 sensor, a camera, a person counter or an infrared sensor.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the set of environmental parameters comprise of an occupancy load, a fresh air rate and an enclosed air space.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the set of environmental sensors comprise one or more of a relative humidity sensor to assess the duration that the viral particle remains airborne.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the set of environmental sensors comprise one or more of a particulate matter sensor to provide a size and a density concentration of a set of particles in the indoor air space utilized by virus cells to remain airborne longer and may enter an occupant's lungs.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the set of environmental sensors comprise one or more of a temperature sensor to assess the life expectancy of the viral particle in the indoor space.

7. The system of claim 1, where the set of environmental sensors comprise one or more of a water droplet sensor to determine a number of water droplets.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the set of environmental sensors comprise of an air flow sensor on an HVAC system of the indoor space to determine the fresh air intake rate of the indoor air space.

9. The system of claim 1, further having an alarm system to alarm when the VTS reaches a predefined value.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein the alarm system is an audible or visual alarm.

11. The system of claim 1, wherein the system having a notification system to send notification to facility operators if the VTS reaches the predefined value.

12. The system of claim 1, wherein the processor is configured to provide information to an HVAC control system to increase an air flow rate or an air filtration rate of the HVAC system to reduce the VTS.

13. A method for assessing a space for favorable conditions for the transmission of a viral particle, comprising the steps of: measuring a CO2 concentration of the space and the ambient outside of the space, and determining a rate of change of CO2 concentration of the space, and calculating a CO2 factor, V.sub.CO.sub.2; measuring a relative humidity of the space and calculating a relative humidity factor, V.sub.RH; measuring a particulate matter concentration of the space and calculating a particulate matter factor, V.sub.PM; measuring a temperature of the space and calculating a temperature factor, V.sub.T; calculating a Viral Transmission Score (VTS) as a single number by the multiplication of the CO2 factor by the relative humidity factor by the particular matter factor by the temperature factor plus 1 or VTS=V.sub.CO.sub.2.Math.V.sub.RH.Math.V.sub.PM.Math.V.sub.T+1, or setting VTS=10, whichever is lower, to result VTS between 1 and 10, whereby the VTS represents a probability of viral transmission that is configured to provide a higher score for spaces with higher occupancy to fresh air intake ratio; a higher score for spaces with possible accumulated viral load from prior occupancy; a higher score for spaces with higher particulate count; a higher score for spaces with particulate distribution favouring smaller particulate sizes; a higher score for spaces with lower relative humidity, and a lower score for spaces with temperature above virus tolerance.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the CO2 factor is defined as $V_{{\mathrm{CO}}_2}=9\left[\frac{\min \left(\mathrm{CO}2,K_{CO2}\right)-\mathrm{CO}{2}_{\mathrm{ext}}}{K_{CO2}-\mathrm{CO}{2}_{\mathrm{ext}}}+\frac{\min \left[\max \left(\frac{{d\mathrm{CO}}_2}{dt},0\right),K_{\mathrm{dCO}2}\right]}{K_{\mathrm{dCO}2}}\right]$ wherein K.sub.CO2 and K.sub.dCO2 have a set of predefined values or K.sub.CO2=1000, K.sub.dCO2=0.75, and CO2.sub.ext is the CO2 concentration of the ambient air.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein CO2.sub.ext is measured by an external sensor or set equal to 400.

16. The method of claim 13, wherein the relative humidity factor is $V_{RH}=1+0.3\left(\frac{100-RH}{100}\right).$

17. The method of claim 13, wherein the particulate matter factor is $V_{PM}=1+\left(\frac{P{M}_{2.5}}{50}\right).$

18. The method of claim 13, wherein the temperature factor is $V_T=\min \left\{\max \left[1-\left(\frac{1-K_T}{K_{TL2}-K_{TL1}}\right)\left(T-K_{TL1}\right),K_T\right],1\right\}$ Where T is the ambient temperature in Celsius, K.sub.T=0.5, K.sub.TL1=30, and K.sub.TL2=60.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0017] Embodiments herein will hereinafter be described in conjunction with the appended drawings provided to illustrate and not to limit the scope of the claims, wherein like designations denote like elements, and in which:

[0018] FIG. 1 shows one embodiment of the Viral Transmission Monitoring System,

[0019] FIG. 2 shows a set of VT monitoring systems installed in two rooms,

[0020] FIG. 3 shows a set of VT monitoring systems in communication with other systems,

[0021] FIG. 4 shows a diagram for Viral Transmission Scoring system;

[0022] FIG. 5A shows the carbon dioxide sensor continuously measures the level of CO2 in the indoor space (at a pharmacy for 5 days);

[0023] FIG. 5B shows the temperature variation in the space (at a pharmacy for 5 days);

[0024] FIG. 5C shows the variation of the particulate matter in the space with time (at a pharmacy for 5 days);

[0025] FIG. 5D shows the variation of the relative humidity in the space (at a pharmacy for 5 days), and

[0026] FIG. 5E shows the variation of the VTS with time for the space (at a pharmacy for 5 days).

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0027] The Viral Transmission Monitoring System 100, illustrated in FIG. 1 consists of environmental sensing system 101, a VTS processing unit 122, and user interface 123, with optional occupancy sensing system 110.

[0028] The environmental sensing system 101, comprises of (but not limited to) carbon dioxide sensors 102, fine particulate sensors 105 capable of measuring particulate mass concentration in the ambient air, temperature sensors 104, and relative humidity sensors 103.

[0029] The occupancy sensing system 110, may use cameras 108 and an image processing program to count the number of occupants in the enclosed space. Alternatively, an RFID sensor 107 can be used to count the number of occupants given that each occupant has an RFID transponder for example in the form of an access card or pre-installed on each shopping cart. The number of occupants can also be determined through a door sensor 109 or an IR sensor 106. Other technologies can also be used to provide either count of the number of occupants or a simple binary occupied/not occupied status.

[0030] The Viral Transmission Monitoring system may also consider readings from direct sensors 111 of a building Heating Ventilation and Air Conditioning system 114 and provide it with commands to reduce the probability of viral transmission in the enclosed space. Direct sensors may include HVAC air flow sensor 113 and fresh air flow sensors 112. The HVAC controller 115, may activate air circulation fan 117 to filter the air using a particulate filter 119 and or light-based disinfectant 116. An air exchanger 118 may also be used to introduce fresh air into the system.

[0031] Exceedance in probability of viral transmission can trigger alarms 124 and notifications 125 through the user interface 123. Historic data can be accessed by the user as all readings are recorded in a database 125.

[0032] A network of viral transmission monitoring system can be used to minimize occupant exposure to viral disease transmission in multiple rooms. For example, in the illustration of FIG. 2, Room 1, 201, is equipped with an occupancy control system 203 that would limit the number of occupants entering the room based on continuous monitoring provided by the Viral transmission system 204. By limiting the number of occupants in the room the system will be able to maintain an occupancy rate that would be within the air filtration and fresh air intake of the central HVAC system 207. Alternatively, the viral transmission monitoring system 210, in room 2, 202, can activate a local air exchanger or air extractor 208 to ensure minimal viral transmission. In both cases, a local visual and/or audible alarm 205, 209 may also be used to warn occupants if conditions can not be controlled through the described methods.

[0033] The Viral Transmission monitoring system can communicate with its various sub systems and other external systems using both wired and wireless communication technologies. For example, in FIG. 3, a viral transmission monitoring system 304 collects data from a set of remote sensors 301 using wireless communication such as Zigbee, Bluetooth, WIFI, or LORA. The system can then send commands to an HVAC controller such as a smart thermostat 305 using similar wireless technologies. This system may send data to the dedicated cloud solution 307, using WIFI, GPRS, or any other wireless communication. A second example is provided where a viral transmission monitoring system 303 communicates with a set of remote sensors 302 through a hard-wired connection. The data can be sent through a hardwired connection to the internet 306 or other networks. This connection can also be used to power the viral transmission monitoring system using POE or similar technology.

[0034] The information transmitted may be stored in a cloud-based data storage server 313 where the user interface 312 would be used to retrieve the data from. The cloud solution may also include SMS alarm 308 and email alarm 309 notifications to inform appropriate personnel of any potentially hazardous conditions related to viral disease transmission. Automated reports 311 and condition predictions using predictive algorithms 310 may be generated from historic data collected to provide facility operators as a valuable tool in site assessment, improvements, and occupancy control procedures.

[0035] The Viral Transmission Scoring system starts by collecting data from all available sensors 401 as shown in FIG. 4. The data is used to generate a singular metric of viral transmission score (VTS) 402. Viral transmission score is related to the probability of viral disease transmission among occupants within the monitored space. This probability is calculated based on environmental parameters such as carbon dioxide concentration, fine particulate concentration, temperature, and relative humidity. It takes into consideration the combined effects of all the monitored parameters. For example, higher relative humidity hinders viral disease transmission by reducing the time the virus is airborne. Fine particulate may increase viral transmission probability as viruses may stay airborne longer by attaching to these particles. Carbon dioxide concentration can be used to determine ratio of occupancy loading to fresh air intake without direct measurement of each of these parameters.

[0036] The viral transmission score is then compared to a user defined limit to determine if the space has an acceptable probability of viral disease transmission 407. An occupancy control system 404, can be triggered to restrict further access to the monitored space. Air handling and filtration unit can be engaged 405 to reduce the viral transmission score with or without occupancy control based on feedback from the viral transmission monitoring system. If the viral transmission score is not controlled and exceeds hazardous levels 406, a local alarm 409 or remote alarm using SMS or email 408 can be triggered.

[0037] Viral Transmission Score (VTS)—VTS is designed to consider all factors that may increase or decrease the probability of viral transmission. First the occupancy level is determined using the occupancy sensors, which are translated into the CO2 concentration and the rate of change of CO2 concentration in time. A CO2 factor, V.sub.CO.sub.2 is determined that provides an indirect measurement of the occupancy load of the room vs the fresh air intake. It considers both the CO2 concentration as well as its rate of change. The CO2 concentration is scaled based on the maximum healthy concentration (for example 1000 ppm) and ambient CO2 concentration level. The ambient CO2 concentration can be acquired from external instruments or assumed to be 400 ppm to simplify the system. The rate of change is also scaled to the maximum safe rate of change (for example 0.75 ppm/min) and added to the scaled CO2 concentration to determine the total VCO2. The CO2 factor, V.sub.CO.sub.2, is defined as

[00001]$V_{{\mathrm{CO}}_2}=9\left[\frac{\min \left(\mathrm{CO}2,K_{CO2}\right)-\mathrm{CO}{2}_{\mathrm{ext}}}{K_{CO2}-\mathrm{CO}{2}_{\mathrm{ext}}}+\frac{\min \left[\max \left(\frac{{d\mathrm{CO}}_2}{dt},0\right),K_{\mathrm{dCO}2}\right]}{K_{\mathrm{dCO}2}}\right]$

where K.sub.CO2 and K.sub.dCO2 have a set of predefined values. The preferred values for these parameters are K.sub.CO2=1000, K.sub.dCO2=0.75. Also, CO2.sub.ext is the CO2 concentration of the ambient air, which is measured by a sensor. For standard conditions,

[00002]$\mathrm{CO}{2}_{\mathrm{ext}}=400.\frac{{d\mathrm{CO}}_2}{\mathrm{dt}}$

is the rate of change of the concentration which is determined based on the time history of the CO2. The function min(CO2, K.sub.CO2) means the minimum values of the CO2 and K.sub.CO2. And the function

[00003]$\min \left[\max \left(\frac{{d\mathrm{CO}}_2}{\mathrm{dt}},0\right),K_{\mathrm{dCO2}}\right],$

limits the value of the rate of change of CO2 between 0 and the constant K.sub.dCO2.

[0038] Relative humidity is inversely corelated to the final viral transmission score and is used to amplify the VCO2 term. Airborne viruses are transmitted through water droplets or mucus from an infected individual. Dry air (lower relative humidity) dries up the water droplet faster reducing its weight and therefore allowing the virus to stay airborne longer. A relative humidity factor, V.sub.RH is defined as

[00004]$V_{RH}=1+K_{RH}\left(\frac{100-RH}{100}\right)$

where K.sub.RH is a predefined constant and is obtained to normalize the effect of the humidity in the viral transmission score. The preferred value for this constant is K.sub.RH=0.3.

[0039] Fine particulate matter less than 2.5 microns in diameter, act as carriers and therefore increase the rate of viral transmission. Without particulate matter, a virus will stay airborne until it comes into contact with a stationary surface. The virus will then remain on the surface regardless of any air disturbance. However, a virus that has attached itself to dust or other particulate matter may settle on a stationary surface but will become again airborne if it is disturbed. A particulate matter factor, V.sub.PM is defined as

[00005]$V_{PM}=1+\left(\frac{P{M}_{2.5}}{K_{PM}}\right)$

where K.sub.PM is a predefined constant and is obtained to normalize the effect of the particulate matter in the viral transmission score. Its values is obtained to be K.sub.PM=50.

[0040] Viruses degrade at faster rate when the temperature increases. The temperature dependent term of the viral transmission score is used to suppress the probability of viral transmission if the temperature exceeds the pre-set limit. The rate of suppression increases as the temperature increases until it reaches a maximum suppression value. This term is virus dependent, for example, COVID-19 viruses start to decay at 30° C. and will completely degrade at 60° C. within minutes. The final Viral transmission score is calculated as a single number between 1 and 10 by multiplying all four (4) terms described above. A temperature factor, V.sub.T, is defined as

[00006]$V_T=\min \left\{\max \left[1-\left(\frac{1-K_T}{K_{TL2}-K_{TL1}}\right)\left(T-K_{TL1}\right),K_T\right],1\right\}$

where T is the ambient temperature in Celsius, K.sub.T=0.5, K.sub.TL1=30, and K.sub.TL2=60.

[0041] All the factors are combined and normalized in such a manner to provide a score between 1 and 10, or VTS=V.sub.CO2.Math.V.sub.RH.Math.V.sub.PM.Math.V.sub.T+1. Therefore, the VTS equation is written as,

VTS=Min(V.sub.CO.sub.2.Math.V.sub.RH.Math.V.sub.PM.Math.V.sub.T+1, 10)

which is the minimum value between 1 and 10. The Viral Transmission Score (VTS) equation is based on the premise that the probability of viral transmission is linearly related to the occupancy load of the space compared to the fresh air intake. Other factors such as humidity, temperature, and fine particulate can amplify or suppress this probability.

[0042] Consider the following example of a lecture hall where students enter after prolong inoccupancy with low fresh air intake. The rate of change of CO2 will be high and therefore the VTS score will be high. The VTS score will increase as the CO2 concentration increases with continual occupancy. After 1 hour of lecture the CO2 concentration is high, but the rate of change is low as the CO2 concentration has stabilized at a high value. The calculated VTS will remain high.

[0043] Directly after the lecture the rate of change will be negative, but CO2 concentration will still be high and therefore the VTS will correctly indicate the danger of continual airborne viruses and remain high. During lecture, the blackboard is erased creating a spike in fine particulate matter and VTS score. These particles will travel within the airspace and allow particulates to stay airborne until the particles are removed by means of filtration or fresh air exchange.

[0044] FIGS. 5A-5E show an example of using the Viral Transmission Score at a pharmacy in Canada. As shown in FIG. 5A, the carbon dioxide sensor continuously measures the level of CO2 in the indoor space. In a 24-hour period, as people enter into the space, the level of CO2 increases, and towards the evening, as the people leave and the occupancy level goes down, the CO2 level reduces. This cyclic process is observed every 24 hours with some deviation due to the changes in the occupancy level. FIG. 5B shows the temperature variation in the space, which is also cyclic. The temperature is higher when there are more people and lower towards the evening. The ambient temperature can effect the indoor space temperate to some extent. FIG. 5C shows the variation of the particulate matter in the space with time, which is not cyclical. Small particles can linger in the air for a long time, resulting in the accumulation and increase in the PM concentration. Increase in the air filtration can help reduce the particulate matter concentration. FIG. 5D shows the variation of the relative humidity in the space, which also shows an accumulative behavior. The relative humidity has dropped when the air filtration rate is increased.

[0045] FIG. 5E shows the variation of the VTS with time for the space, which is obtained by combining all the data gathered by all the sensors and using the method provided here to determine VTS. The VTS score shown in FIG. 5A is divided into three (3) ranges: [0046] Low probability with score of 1 to 5 shows ideal conditions and requires no action, [0047] Moderate probability spanning VTS of 5 to 7 indicating pro-active measures such as upgrade of HVAC system or reduction of occupancy loading is required. Systems with intelligent HVAC or air filtration systems would activate at higher capacity when VTS reaches this range. [0048] Critical range of 7 to 10 indicating immediate action is required including reduction of occupancy load.

[0049] The results demonstrate the importance of the interaction of all measured parameters. For example, while occupancy loading had not increased between 130-170 hours as demonstrated by the CO2 measurements, the VTS score shows exceedance into the Moderate range due to low humidity levels. This information could be used by the facility manager to improve humidification of the space to ensure a safer environment for the occupants.

[0050] The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention.

[0051] With respect to the above description, it is to be realized that the optimum relationships for the parts of the invention in regard to size, shape, form, materials, function and manner of operation, assembly and use are deemed readily apparent and obvious to those skilled in the art, and all equivalent relationships to those illustrated in the drawings and described in the specification are intended to be encompassed by the present invention.