Portable ultrasonic instrument to locate, quantify, and record air leakage pathways in hospital wards, cleanrooms, and more.

The Portascanner® COVID-19 (supplied with the Portascanner® AIRTIGHT) is a unique ultrasonic technology from Coltraco Ultrasonics capable of identifying the exact location of any leak site within a structure, measuring the physical size of the leak, calculating the airflow rate through it, and estimating the air permeability of the structure or room as a whole. 

P/N: 509004-COV19

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Overview

Ultrasonic air permeability tester

The Portascanner® COVID-19 (supplied with the Portascanner® AIRTIGHT) is a new technology developed by Coltraco Ultrasonics to help prevent the spread of airborne infectious diseases such as COVID-19 in clinical environments. After receiving a UK Government Grant and being assessed as “outstanding” by InnovateUK in early 2021, Coltraco Ultrasonics is proud to offer this valuable tool for airborne spread mitigation to the NHS and domestic and international markets.

Existing methods for airflow measurement are disruptive and costly and often do not allow operators to identify specific leak locations. Meanwhile, the Portascanner® COVID-19 (supplied with the Portascanner® AIRTIGHT) is the only device worldwide capable of quickly, reliably, and non-invasively locating and quantifying leaks and the first to use ultrasound to directly measure leak sizes. It is a hand-held instrument that, with minimal training, can be deployed regularly with patients and staff in situ.

The Portascanner® COVID-19 (supplied with the Portascanner® AIRTIGHT) is used as a maintenance instrument for cleanrooms, isolators, dental practices, and hospitals. It allows maintenance operators to ensure complete airtightness or to ensure that the air permeability falls below the required maximum level. The air permeability reference value is adjustable in the settings, but by default it is set to 2.5 m³/(h·m²) at 50 Pa. This is the standard maximum, below which negative pressurisation cannot be reliably obtained according to BSRIA standards.

The instrument has the following capabilities:

  • Locating leak-sites
  • Quantifying leak cross-sectional areas
  • Calculating air flow rates
  • Calculating air permeability
  • Photographing leak sites
  • Recording & exporting the location and severity of leaks for reporting purposes

Unique Selling Points

  • Capable of non-disruptive identification and quantification of leak sites to help in achieving adequate airtightness for pressurised rooms, without needing the room to be pressurised beforehand
  • Provides knowledge of size of leak (cross-sectional area) and air flowrate through it, relating each leak to air permeability requirements for compliance to healthcare standards
  • Know where your leaks are and their significance – avoid having to seal every opening in the room which can be time-consuming, disruptive, and cumbersome 
  • Improve efficiency and quality of airtight room maintenance – locate leaks, accurately predict the leak site size and its significance, seal the leaks that matter
  • Provideevidence of your maintenance programme – locate, quantify, and record leaks as well as photograph and export a test report all in one hand-held instrument 
  • Grants the user the ability to fully assess a room or ward prior to the installation of FPE (Fan Pressurisation Equipment) meaning considerableresource may be saved by significantly reducing the risk of installing FPE in an unsuitable room

Features

  • The ability to switch between ‘quick test’ and ‘full test’ modes, the former for quickly locating leaks and creating a record of their locations, and the latter for quantifying them
  • Different power settings for the generator and gain settings for the receiver to allow accurate testing regardless of the size and shape of the room
  • The ability to filter records by date or location in order to export the desired records via USB
  • Portable and easy to use in a 7” hand-held tablet format – can be used in-house by hospital ward personnel or by third party maintenance teams
  • Photographs and records are all easily transferable to other systems viaUSB

Benefits

  • Ability to determine individual air leakage rates through specific walls, doors, seals etc.
  • Some current practices involve measuring the air permeability of the whole surface of the room in a time-consuming process and assuming that the leakage rate through a given section of it will be equal to: size of section / size of room surface x total room leakage rate. This is not likely to be accurate because certain areas will be more prone to leakage than others. Our instrument solves this by quantifying each individual leak.
  • Ability to determine the exact location of leaks, meaning remedial measures can be taken. This means one does not need to undergo the “patch and hope” procedure that is currently used.
  • Far quicker and much less troublesome than the alternative
  • Classified as maintenance equipment, not medical equipment, so does not require medical certification

 

What's In The Box

  Portascanner® COVID-19 7-inch Touchscreen Receiver Unit :
  Receiver Wand :
  Receiver Wand Attachment:
  BNC Cable :
  Portascanner® Ultrasonic Generator :
  Charging Cable :
  Headphones:
  Coltraco USB Drive :
  USB Splitter:
  USB WiFi Adaptor :
  Operating Instructions :
  Calibration Certificate :
  Hard Wearing Carrying Case :
  Generator Tripod Stand (optional) :

Technical specifications

Technical Specification
Dimensions
  • Height: 135mm (5.31 in)
  • Width: 225mm (8.86 in)
  • Depth: 35mm (1.38 in)
  • Weight: 1051g (37.07 ounces)
Readings

Visual via UI Display or audible via external headphones 

Metric or imperial units available 

Measures cross-sectional area of leak sites 

Resolution

0.5mm hole diameter

Power Supply

Rechargeable LiPo Battery

Battery Life

6+ hours intensive use

Display

7-inch capacitive touchscreen, LCD back-lit, 1024×600 resolution display

Camera

8 Megapixel camera on rear of device

Operating Temperature

-20°C to +70°C (68°F to 158°F)

Generator Unit Dimensions
  • Height: 112mm (4.41 in)
  • Width: 67mm (2.64 in)
  • Depth: 25mm (0.98 in)
  • Weight: 137g (4.83 ounces)
Generator Unit Output

Single 40kHz transducer, variable power settings

Generator Unit Power Supply

Rechargeable LiPo Battery

Generator Unit Battery Life

6+ hours use (TBC)

Generator Unit Mounting method

Tripod (optional)

Receiver Wand Dimensions
  • Total Length230mm (9.06 inches)
  • Rod Diameter25mm (0.98 inches) 

Extension parts available for longer length 

Connected by BNC to 1m length co-axial cable 

See the Portascanner® COVID19 in action.

Frequently asked questions

The Portascanner® COVID-19 determines the size of a leak ultrasonically and uses theoretical models to translate this reading to an airflow rate and air permeability value. This is as opposed to Door Fan Testing, where airflow rate is measured directly. While our in-house experiments have demonstrated a high level of accuracy and have been independently verified by the National Physical Laboratory. There is, by contrast, no stated accuracy for the existing process of Door Fan Testing, nor does DFT possess the ability to accurately locate individual leaks.
No, the Portascanner® COVID-19 can be used with people in the room, as long as they do not directly interfere with the test (i.e. standing directly between the generator and receiver).
To some extent, yes, however the application will guide the operator through finding an optimal position for the generator. Generally, though, the generator should point directly at the structure to be tested, positioned with transducer approximately centred on the structure at a distance of between 0.5 and 5 metres.
No, it does not matter, the test should be performed from whichever side is most convenient and practical. For example, if the operator is testing a door that leads onto a corridor, we would suggest placing the generator inside the room and performing the measurements from the corridor so as not to obstruct the full width of the corridor.
Provided the material used sufficiently blocks the ultrasound where there is no leak, then yes. This can be used anywhere as long as there is access to both sides of the structure.
Yes, there is no complicated equipment required for a test, just the generator and the hand-held Portascanner® COVID-19 unit. In the case of an emergency, the operator may simply leave; all that may happen is the generator will use battery power and may need to be recharged.
Currently, a USB drive is required to export the reports. This will be included in the package; however, any USB drive can be used.
Yes. The instrument is a low voltage, battery-operated device that transmits and receives ultrasound. Ultrasound is used frequently in hospital environments.
No. The Portascanner® COVID-19 is a maintenance instrument and therefore does not require medical certification.

Related Products

The Permaflow® is a fixed, clamp-on, ultrasonic transit time flow and heat meter that is non-invasive for measuring the flow rates of liquids containing less than 10% of gas/solid contents. It is mains powered, designed for 24/7 monitoring and is accurate to +/- 0.5% of measured value under ideal conditions.

P/N: 3578010-FLOW

Portascanner® AIRTIGHT is our most advanced ultrasonic room integrity testing tool, contributing to optimal airtightness. Portascanner® AIRTIGHT locates and quantifies even the smallest of leaks and can automatically analyse and consolidate this data, to present these results as indications of a room’s airtightness. This allows for quick testing with extreme precision for applications in the construction, maintenance, or medical fields.

P/N: 509004-AT

KD983 CAGE code – COLTRACO LIMITED

The Portascanner® is an ultrasonic room integrity testing tool, allowing you to locate even minor leak sites quickly, easily, and non-destructively. The perfect tool for ensuring and maintaining airtight integrity.

  • Type – Ultrasonic Room Integrity Tester
  • Function – To test the airtightness of sealed compartments/rooms
  • Part Number – 509004-520
  • NSN – 6625-99-257-8336
  • IMPA – 652778
  • Application – Used for detecting leaks in Energy Efficient Buildings, Construction, Passive House, Computer Rooms, Telecommunication Centres, Data Centres, Laboratories, Clean Rooms, Control Rooms, Manufacturing, Robotics, Storage

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