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bioRxiv · 10.1101/2021.11.22.469529

Simulation of aerosol dispersion during medical examinations

Falk, S.·Mueller, S. K.·Kniesburges, S.·Doellinger, M.
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Abstract

The main route of transmission of the SARS-CoV2 virus has been shown to be airborne. The objective of this study is to analyze the aerosol dispersion and potential exposure to medical staff within a typical medical examination room during classical airway procedures. The multiphase simulation of the aerosol particles in the airflow is based on a Lagrangian-Eulerian approach. All simulation cases with surgical mask show partially but significantly reduced maxi-mum dispersion distances of the aerosol particles compared to the cases without surgical mask. The simulations have shown that medical examiner are exposed to large amount of aerosol particles, especially during procedures such as laryngoscopy where the examiners head is directly in front of the the patients face. However, exposure can be drastically reduced if the patient wears a mask which is possible for the most of the procedures studied, such as otoscopy, sonography, or anamnesis.

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Falk, S., Mueller, S. K., Kniesburges, S., Doellinger, M.. 2021-11-23. Simulation of aerosol dispersion during medical examinations. https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.11.22.469529

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