Collaborative Computational Steering: Interactive collaborative design of ventilation and illumination of operating theatres

The layout of the ventilation system of an operating theatre is a crucial matter, because numerous infections occurring in hospitals today are directly related to air flow induced by the air conditioning system. The interactive fluid simulator developed by our group allows the engineer responsible for the HVAC design of an operating theatre to interactively determine the optimum shape and position of the inlets and outlets of the air conditioning system, as well as the ideal position for the operating equipment which acts as an obstacle in the fluid stream. In the case of the operating lamps we are faced with a typical multi-disciplinary optimization task, since their position is also essential for an optimum illumination of the patient undergoing surgery. We have therefore developed a software platform which allows engineers from different domains to come together in a virtual session and collaboratively modify the layout of a shared geometric model. At the same time they can use their specific interactive simulation in order to obtain results which are necessary for their decisions in the scenario depicted here a fluid simulator and an illumination analysis tool. The paper discusses in detail the interactive fluid simulator and the software platform enabling multi-disciplinary Collaborative Computational Steering.