Dynamic 'daylight' in the Intensive Care unit at University Hospital Saint-Luc
The University Hospital (UZ) Saint-Luc in Sint-Lambrechts-Woluwe was established in 1976. In 2000, it had more than 32,000 patients. Since that time, the number has continued to rise.
As in most hospitals, the Intensive Care unit was until recently laid out as an open space, with no separation between the beds. This arrangement had certain disadvantages that are well known, such as a lack of peace and privacy for patients, the room being under constant illumination, and all patients being disturbed if an intervention is necessary.
Early in 2007, the Saint-Luc University Hospital started renovating the Intensive Care unit so that it could get rid of these problems and thereby increase the level of comfort of patients and medical staff. The open space was replaced by individual rooms, situated around a central observation room. In this way, medical staff are able to keep every room under observation.
The individual rooms are equipped with square closed UM1 luminaires with MesoOpticsTM optics and "dynamic lighting". MesoOpticsTM is an innovative technology that allows the creation of a very precise microstructure topography which spreads the light in a controlled, diffuse way. Meso-OpticsTM optics distribute the emerging light evenly over an entire surface and exclude colour interference. The "dynamic lighting" is programmed in such a way that in daytime, the light changes in colour and intensity. This is particularly important for rooms that do not have outside windows. Medical staff can override this automatically regulated system and make available a luminous intensity of 1000 lux over a bed in order to undertake medical interventions.
The corridors of the department are fitted with downlights with a protection level of IP44, and also with square Thalia ® luminaires and UM1 rectangular luminaires. The emergency lighting in the department has been laid out in the form of recessed luminaires from the ETAP Safety Manager (ESM) system. This allows monitoring and control of the emergency lighting to be undertaken remotely.