Patient isolation system and method

A portable, protective enclosure for coupling to a patient support for supporting a mammal comprising:

• a collapsible frame comprising a pair of X-shaped linkages coupled with a pair of cross-members;
• a canopy drape formed of a transparent, first polymeric material, the canopy drape being bottomless and having a top surface, a plurality of side surfaces, an internal region disposed between the top and side surfaces, an air intake portion, and a first thickness, wherein the canopy drape is coupled to at least one of the cross-members;
• a pair of sleeves and gloves configured for receiving hands and arms of a user, the sleeves and gloves together having a closed, first free end, an open, second free end, and a second thickness, wherein the sleeves are coupled to the canopy drape to form an air-tight seal therebetween and the second thickness is less than the first thickness;
• a zipper disposed along one of the side surfaces, the zipper having a closed state and an open state, wherein the side surface is not folded about itself when the zipper is in the open state;
• a first filter disposed in communication with a second filter, the first and second filters disposed on opposing sides of one of the side surfaces of the canopy drape, wherein the first and second filters together provide high efficiency particulate air filtration to filter at least 99.97% of airborne particulate of 0.3 μm in diameter;
• gas-permeable media disposed in communication with and proximate the air intake portion;
• a movable fan in communication with the first and second filters for creating a negative pressure of at least 0.01 inches of water in the internal region of the canopy drape, the fan configured to draw in air through the gas-permeable media into the internal region and evacuate air from the internal region through the first and second filters;
• and
• a negative pressure indicator.