Howorth showroom used to test solvent levels
Howorth Medical was able to help a leading designer, manufacturer and distributor of orthopaedic devices, DePuy, carry out tests that required a specialised facility with Ultra-Clean ventilation systems.
Occupational hygiene consultants Watson & Wild, sponsored and assisted by DePuy, used the theatre to carry out an in-depth study into the monomer elutions emitted by bone cement during mixing.
The tests, which allow the comparison of various bone cement mixes, are designed to aid research into creating the best possible working environment for everyone present in the theatre during orthopaedic surgery, particularly the nurses who are usually responsible for mixing the bone cement and may therefore be particularly susceptible to any vapours given off.
The testing was carried out in the showroom’s theatre in order to simulate operating theatre conditions and thus make the test environment as realistic as possible; the theatre was used to evacuate the room of the residual methyl methacrylate monomer eluted by the cement, and Howorth’s Exflow Ultra-Clean Canopy was used to clear the theatre prior to the start of each test.