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Vaporstream® humidifier meets critical need for humidity control in Rikshospital burns unit
View of the atrium in the Rikshospital, Oslo
Bygg Automasjon recommended Vaporstream
humidifiers, with the understanding that they
would have to guarantee performance and
absorption characteristics.
When the new Rikshospital, Norway's largest
opened in Oslo in 1999, it quickly became
apparent that the originally-installed humidifiers
could not maintain stable, reliable humidification.
Particular concern was in the skin culture laboratory
of the burns unit, where relative humidity must be
consistently maintained at 60% -- with no more than
a 1% fluctuation -- or skin grafts are rejected. The
installed electrode boiler system was unable to meet
this specification because frequent draining and
filling cycles caused larger than acceptable humidity
fluctuations. In addition, electrical interference from
the electrode humidifiers was negatively affecting
the nearby magnetic resonance imager. Clearly
there was a critical need for another solution.
Christian Gamborg, the hospital's Chief Engineer,
contracted consulting engineers at Technoconsult
who recommended a change to resistance type
electric humidifiers of the type used on North
Sea oil platforms for reasons of reliability and
safety. Technoconsult engineers then called in
Bygg Automasjon A/S, the DriSteem distributor
in Norway, to create a new and more demanding
specification. Bygg Automasjon recommended
Vaporstream humidifiers, with the understanding
that they would need to not only provide a
standard two-year warranty, but they would
have to guarantee performance and absorption
characteristics as well.
A Vaporstream Model VLC-9-1 installed in the Rikshospital, Oslo
DriSteem's Vaporstream Humidifiers were installed by
the building service engineers, with technical assistance
provided by Bygg. The relative humidity in the skin culture
laboratory is now predictable and stable. The burns unit
is able to help more patients more effectively, and the
hospital is able to keep maintenance costs down.
Brian Lynch contributed to this case study.