Evidence-based guidance for mitigating COVID-19 virus droplet transmission and surface contamination

拟议的研究，与一家主要的个人防护设备（PPE）制造商合作，（3 M加拿大）和一家专门从事仪器和医疗器械设计的公司（Corus产品设计），汇集了西部的工程师和病毒学家，在新的1600万美元的生物防护3级ImPaKT实验室开发和实施一种新型的气溶胶室，这将允许COVID-19的气溶胶产生，通过一种新的脉冲发生器，它可以模拟咳嗽和打喷嚏的声音。不同材料的样本，包括个人防护装备，将被放置在室内，以检查在不同温度和湿度条件下病毒液滴在其表面的运输和沉积。这种更现实的方法消除了与当前使用移液管或注射器将液滴直接放置在表面上的做法相关的粘附和渗透偏差，这对任何PPE去污程序的后续有效性具有影响。加拿大尤其迫切需要在不同的环境条件下进行可靠的COVID-19传播和表面去污实验，因为其他国家的证据表明，室内空调公共场所（如购物中心）可能会在夏季促进传播。与加拿大3 M公司的合作将使与PPE的使用和去污有关的研究结果能够有效地传达给产品用户以及监管机构，而Corus产品设计公司将协助开发该设施的最终版本，然后将其与测试方法和程序一起销售给世界各地的研究实验室。确保以标准化的方式对COVID-19和任何未来的病毒进行此类研究和测试。

The proposed research, in collaboration with a major manufacturer of personal protective equipment (PPE) (3M Canada) and a company specializing in instrumentation and medical device design (Corus Product Design), brings together engineers and virologists at Western to develop and implement a novel aerosolization chamber in the new $16 million biocontainment level 3 ImPaKT lab that will allow aerosols of COVID-19 to be produced, via a new pulsed generator, that closely mimic those from coughs and sneezes. Samples of different materials, including PPE, will be placed in the chamber to examine the transport and deposition of viral droplets on their surface under different temperature and humidity conditions. This more realistic approach removes the adhesion and penetration bias associated with the current practice of directly placing droplets on the surface using pipettes or syringes, which has implications on the subsequent effectiveness of any PPE decontamination procedures. There is particular urgency for Canada in undertaking reliable COVID-19 transmission and surface decontamination experiments, under different ambient conditions, because there is evidence from other countries that indoor air-conditioned public spaces (e.g. shopping malls) may promote transmission during the summer months. The collaboration with 3M Canada will allow the research findings related to the use and decontamination of PPE to be effectively communicated to product users as well as to regulatory bodies, whilst Corus Product Design will assist in the development of the final version of the facility that they will then market to research laboratories world-wide, together with test methodologies and procedures, to ensure that such research and testing is conducted in a standardized manner, with COVID-19 and any future viruses.