Zollernalb-Klinikum Balingen strengthens explicit protection for oncology patients
During the pandemic, Zollernalb-Klinikum Balingen aimed to provide explicit additional protection for its oncology patients. In addition to relocating the oncology department, this area was equipped with two high-performance IDEAL AP80 PRO air purifiers to reduce potential infection risks. Besides meeting, conference, and seminar rooms, the purifiers are also used in shared offices. Ewald Böhm (Infrastructure Department Officer) reports on the experiences gathered since these two air purifiers were put into operation around six months ago.
Ewald Böhm (Infrastructure Department Officer): “To protect our oncology patients during the COVID-19 pandemic, we relocated our oncology department to one of our annex buildings. This was our former school dormitory, which we renovated with construction measures by the end of April 2021. Before the renovation, we tested the IDEAL AP80 PRO air purifiers from mid-December 2020, as we believed they would be a good way to improve air quality during the transitional period. To put it simply: the use of these air purifiers has absolutely helped us – and this is measurable! For documentation and illustration, we conducted targeted measurement series.”
Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, Zollernalb-Klinikum had considered acquiring air purifiers. The focus was particularly on equipping the oncology department with mobile devices. The pandemic accelerated this plan and led to a concrete purchase. Especially when the immune system is already weakened, the best protection against infection is to avoid transmission routes and interrupt chains of infection. Air purifiers significantly help in reducing the spread of pollutants and pathogens.
“Due to our spatial conditions, we opted for two IDEAL AP80 PRO units. These are professional high-performance air purifiers that ensure clean air in rooms of 70 m² to 100 m².”
This IDEAL high-performance air purifier achieves top values in air throughput and purification performance. The multi-stage IDEAL 360° smart filters provide particularly high separation efficiency. The cartridge design ensures effective use of the entire filter surface, and the airflow also captures more distant particles in the room. The highly effective IDEAL 360° smart filters remove up to 99.99% of all particles (0.2 μm, according to DIN 71460-1), aerosols, pollutants, pathogens such as viruses and bacteria, as well as gases and molecules from indoor air.
The five highly efficient, multi-stage filter layers (pre-filter grille, pre-filter layer, HEPA microfibre layer, activated carbon layer, and cover layer) in the IDEAL purifiers capture everything: small and large particles, gases, and molecules. Even MPPS (“Most Penetrating Particle Size”), the most difficult particles to filter at 0.1 to 0.3 micrometres, are reliably removed from the indoor air. These lung-penetrating, ultra-fine particles are the hardest to filter and can cause illness. To prevent this risk, the two IDEAL air purifiers are in permanent use at Zollernalb-Klinikum.
“In oncology, we receive around 25 patients daily. On average, a patient spends 4 hours with us. We consider it extremely important to ensure good air exchange given this level of patient traffic and, especially, the long patient stays.”
The IDEAL AP80 PRO meets the hygiene standards required for medical facilities and is therefore certified for medical use according to VDI Guideline 6022. This is naturally an important criterion for its use in the oncology department of Zollernalb-Klinikum. The IDEAL air purifier also carries the ECARF quality seal, confirming its allergy-friendliness.
Many convenient features, such as the powerful turbo mode, timer function, intelligent automatic function, and ultra-quiet night mode, confirm the well-known high IDEAL standards for functionality and quality in this IDEAL air purifier model.
“In daily use, we were most convinced by the simple operation of the devices. This is very important, as several people in our clinic operate these units. The automatic air quality detection and corresponding program selection were also highly effective. We were also impressed by the excellent construction of the air purifiers, which are visually very appealing.”
Operation of the IDEAL AP80 PRO can be done directly on the purifier itself or conveniently via remote control. The intelligently built-in sensor technology monitors and regulates indoor air quality, ensuring consistently clean air – easily and conveniently via the associated smartphone app. Additionally, the IDEAL AS10 indoor air sensor is available on request, providing real-time information on air composition, indoor climate, and environmental influences. All values are also displayed via the “IDEAL AIR PRO” app.
“As the first regional point of contact in the healthcare sector, we value a strong connection to the region. We are therefore particularly pleased to have found such a reliable partner with IDEAL in the field of mobile air purifiers. We would definitely choose the high-performance IDEAL AP80 PRO again and can wholeheartedly recommend this ‘Made in Balingen’ device, both professionally and privately.”