That’s a question being explored by a team of researchers from Argonne National Laboratory in partnership with the University of Chicago.
For the last three years, a team of microbiologists has been measuring how bacteria moves around a hospital. They hope to better understand how to slow down the increase of antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections that patients acquire while having a hospital stay.
Since hospitals spend a great deal of time and resources attempting to control their environments and the bacteria that lives within them, this study could have a major impact on the internal operations and procedures of medical facilities — as well as the very architectural design of future hospitals.
Researchers are finding evidence that interior design features including ventilation, humidity controls and even the very building materials used in construction can have an impact on how patients are affected by bacteria during their hospital stays.
To learn more, check out this recent Wall Street Journal report on the hospital of the future study, and this video produced by the research team conducting it.
We think you’ll find this innovative way of thinking about the future of hospitals and infection control very intriguing.