Next Generation Healthcare Ventilation Pioneered by the Mansim team
- Babak Baghaei
- Apr 6
- 2 min read
Updated: Nov 13
Dr. Amir Keshmiri, Associate Professor at the University of Manchester and Founder/Technical Director of Mansim, is driving a transformative research initiative in collaboration with industrial partner Howorth Air Technology (HAT) aimed at redefining ventilation in healthcare facilities. The project applies his advanced airflow-modelling metrics into ultra-clean ventilation systems to reduce cross-infection risk and enhance energy efficiency.
Current hospital ventilation systems often focus chiefly on fresh air intake and airflow velocity, but these metrics alone may neglect key factors like viral load, exposure time and occupant susceptibility. Dr Keshmiri’s team at Manchester took a more holistic approach: using computational simulations they analysed the spatial-temporal relationship of airborne pathogens, the flow field around occupants and how these dynamics relate to infection risk.
“It is so important to work with experts in industry to see our research translated into real-world applications. We are confident that combining our efforts we can realise positive change and improve outcomes for patients around the world.”— Dr Amir Keshmiri, Associate Professor at the University of Manchester and Founder/Technical Director of Mansim
HAT’s Technical Director Mike Dunne commented:
“This exciting project will see two respective leaders in their fields collaborate to drive innovation into an area of engineering for the good of our wider healthcare infrastructure. Making data-driven decisions in relation to building and equipment design is key to ensure the best outcomes for all stakeholders.”— Mr Mike Dunne, Technical Director, Howorth Air Technology
Following a successful pilot in a UK hospice, the team secured funding from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) Impact Acceleration Account, enabling the next stage: integrating the new ventilation-effectiveness metrics into real clinical deployments and testing performance under operational conditions.
The benefits are two-fold: for patients and healthcare staff, the system promises to minimise infection risk in vulnerable settings; for the environment, it offers a path towards higher-efficiency ventilation and supports the NHS’s net-zero ambitions. The project could influence national ventilation guidelines, making safe-air and sustainable-air twin outcomes for the built healthcare environment.
By blending cutting-edge simulation (CFD and multiphysics), novel metrics, and industrial deployment, Mansim’s technical leadership—through Dr Keshmiri and his co-investigators—shows how simulation expertise can translate into high-impact infrastructure engineering for health. This work exemplifies the role of advanced modelling in turning fundamental research into real-world solutions.