Benchmark Case of Operating Room Construction in the DRC: Commissioning of SKK polyclinique's Laminar Flow Operating Room, Empowering Medical Upgrade by China Care Medical
I. Case Background: Cooperation Opportunity Driven by Medical Upgrade Needs in the DRC
As a key institution focusing on comprehensive medical services in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), SKK polyclinique undertakes multiple medical missions such as diagnosis and treatment of common diseases, surgical operations, and chronic disease management in the region. With the continuous growth of local medical demand, the hospital's new operating room project was put on the agenda. However, the current situation of limited medical facilities and high postoperative infection risk in the DRC made the hospital set strict requirements for operating room cleanliness and infection control.
After investigating and comparing multiple suppliers, SKK polyclinique valued China Care Medical's mature experience in laminar flow purification technology and adaptability to the African market. In February 2024, the main person in charge of SKK polyclinique made a special trip to visit our Guangzhou headquarters. The two parties conducted in-depth communication on core issues such as the cleanliness level, equipment adaptability, and construction cycle of the new operating room, and finally confirmed the cooperation: China Care Medical would provide a full set of laminar flow operating room solutions, including equipment supply, customized design, and local installation and commissioning services.
II. Key Project Milestones: Full Process from Solution Confirmation to Commissioning and Delivery
(I) February 2024: On-site Inspection + Customized Solution, Laying the Foundation for Cooperation
The inspection team of SKK polyclinique visited our laminar flow operating room model room and production base on site, and learned in detail about the core technology and production process of the equipment. Targeting the environmental characteristics of the DRC such as high temperature and humidity and plateau climate in some areas, our technical team tailored the solution: optimized the air conditioning system to adapt to temperature fluctuations, adopted corrosion-resistant materials to cope with the hot and humid environment, and ensured the stable operation of the equipment under the complex local climate. The two parties formally signed a cooperation agreement, clarifying the core goal of the project—to build a Class 100 laminar flow operating room that meets ISO 14644 standards.
(II) April 2024: Meticulous Preparation + Compliant Shipment, Ensuring Smooth Logistics
Based on the customized solution, our company completed the production and inspection of a full set of operating room equipment, including laminar flow purification units, three-stage filtration systems (primary G4 + intermediate F8 + high-efficiency H14), and intelligent monitoring equipment. Referring to the export compliance standards for medical equipment in Africa, we completed all customs declaration documents in advance, such as English technical documents and product compliance statements. In mid-April, the goods were shipped from Chinese ports, adopting a combined mode of sea transportation + land transportation in the destination country to ensure the safe transportation of the equipment.
(III) July 2024: Containers Arrived at Port Smoothly, On-site Preparation Completed
After three months of cross-border transportation, the containers loaded with the full set of laminar flow operating room equipment arrived at the designated port in the DRC smoothly. Our local service team in the DRC completed on-site surveys simultaneously, coordinated to solve the preliminary preparation work such as power supply and ventilation at the construction site, and preprocessed the floor and walls of the operating room to create the required basic conditions for subsequent installation.
（The hospital's original operating room）
(IV) August 2024: Professional Team Entered the Site for Meticulous Installation and Construction
Our installation engineer team arrived at SKK polyclinique and started the installation work in strict accordance with the construction specifications. Targeting the special requirements of operating room construction in the DRC, we focused on completing three core links: first, optimizing the air distribution, adopting vertical laminar flow design to ensure a stable clean air cover above the operating table, with the wind speed controlled within the range of 0.25-0.3m/s; second, constructing the pressure difference gradient, verifying through CFD simulation to maintain a positive pressure of 5-10Pa in the operating room to prevent the intrusion of external pollution; third, debugging the intelligent system, connecting real-time monitoring modules for temperature and humidity (21-25℃) and cleanliness, ensuring automatic alarm when data is abnormal.
(V) October 2024: Installation and Acceptance Completed, Operating Room Officially Commissioned
After two months of meticulous construction and debugging, the laminar flow operating room project successfully passed the third-party inspection and acceptance in October: the cleanliness of the operating area reached Class 100 standard (viable particles ≤10cfu/m³, airborne particles ≤35 particles/m³), the bacteria removal efficiency of the filter was ≥99.99%, the noise was ≤55dB, and all indicators met the preset standards. SKK polyclinique held a commissioning ceremony for the new operating room, marking the entry of local comprehensive medical services into a new era of sterile surgery.
（The operating room after the hospital construction is completed.）
III. Highlights of Technical Solution: Laminar Flow Operating Room Solution Adapted to DRC Scenarios
(I) Core Equipment Technical Parameters
•Purification system: Adopting a combination of primary, intermediate, and high-efficiency filtration, the terminal H14 high-efficiency filter has a filtration efficiency of 99.995% for 0.3μm particles, with an air change rate of ≥60 times per hour and a self-cleaning time of ≤20 minutes;
•Control module: Equipped with dual-circuit power supply + UPS uninterruptible power supply to cope with local power fluctuations, supporting multi-level wind speed adjustment (0.15-0.45m/s) to meet the needs of different surgical scenarios;
•Structural design: The chassis is made of cold-rolled steel plate with seamless welding, the corners of the operating room are designed with arcs to eliminate cleaning dead corners, and the curtain is made of imported odorless and high-transparent PVC material, which has both anti-static and easy-to-clean properties.
(II) Localized Adaptation Design for the DRC
1.Climate adaptation: For high-temperature and high-humidity areas, optimize the air conditioning condensation system to improve dehumidification efficiency, ensuring the humidity of the operating room is stable at 30%-60%; configure special fans for plateau climate areas to ensure air flow stability under low air pressure environment;
2.Easy operation and maintenance: Adopt plug-in primary filter design to facilitate regular cleaning and replacement by local medical staff, and provide multilingual operation manuals and remote technical support to reduce later maintenance costs;
3.Compliance guarantee: All equipment meets WHO medical equipment export standards, and customs declaration documents are standardized to ensure the whole process of the project is compliant without port detention risk.
IV. Project Value: Empowering the Upgrade of Medical Services at SKK polyclinique
(I) Significant Improvement in Medical Safety
Compared with the 6.7% postoperative infection rate of traditional operating rooms, the laminar flow operating room of SKK polyclinique controls the postoperative infection risk below 1% through the high-efficiency purification system, providing a safe and sterile operating environment for surgical operations, obstetric diagnosis and treatment, etc., especially benefiting patient groups with low immunity.
(II) Comprehensive Enhancement of Diagnosis and Treatment Capabilities
The commissioning of the Class 100 laminar flow operating room has enabled SKK polyclinique to have the ability to carry out complex surgical operations, breaking the limitation that some local operations need to be referred, greatly improving the accessibility of regional medical services, and it is expected to increase the annual number of operations by more than 300 cases.
(III) Prominent Industry Demonstration Effect
As a benchmark project in the field of comprehensive clinics in the DRC, the successful commissioning of this laminar flow operating room has provided a replicable "Chinese solution" for the upgrading of local medical facilities, and also demonstrated China Care Medical's core strength in operating room equipment supply and overseas construction services.
V. Conclusion
From the solution negotiation at the Guangzhou headquarters to the on-site commissioning in the DRC, China Care Medical has helped SKK polyclinique achieve a qualitative leap in medical services with professional laminar flow operating room solutions. In the wave of upgrading medical facilities in Africa, we always adhere to the combination of technological innovation and localized adaptation, providing high-quality operating room equipment and construction services for global customers.
If you have needs for laminar flow operating room construction, operating room equipment procurement, or overseas medical engineering cooperation, please feel free to contact China Care Medical, and we will customize an exclusive solution for you!