ARTICLE: Absorptive Product Options for Medical Spaces
Many of the concerns around spread of infection are not well founded when it comes to acoustic ceiling tiles.
There are a significant number of studies that show genuine healthcare benefits can be achieved with increased absorption. While this needs to be balanced with infection control; many of the concerns around spread of infection are not well founded when it comes to acoustic ceiling tiles.
The benefits of an acoustic ceiling in terms of patient and staff comfort far outweigh the dangers posed by a porous surface. This danger is further reduced by having an anti-bacterial coating and cleanable surface on the acoustic tiles.
Over a number of years T&R Interior Systems has successfully supplied acoustic ceiling tiles into a variety of hospital and medical settings.
Most of the acoustic ceilings supplied have been glasswool tiles, either with or without an attenuating backer, but some have also been mineral fibre tiles. More recently, the range has been improved for more specific hygiene applications. This range now includes:
• Phonic Clean and Anti-bacterial
The hospital specific tiles (both glasswool and mineral fibre varieties) come with an anti-bacterial coating which suppresses bacterial growth and their ability to reproduce on the tile surface.
Furthermore, the Phonic Clean tiles have a surface that repels moisture and prevents any material from sticking to it. Both these measures ensure that there is minimal infection risk while maintaining a very high NRC rating. Phonic tiles achieve an NRC of 0.95 while Daiken mineral fibre tiles achieve an NRC of 0.7.
The Gridlux Luminaire is also able to reduce the amount of openings in the ceiling and integrate lighting with the overall ceiling grid. The LEDs are available with a high CRI (Colour Rendering Index) for medical settings.
Conclusion
