Air Supply (Personal Unit)
Testing Results 

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Air Purification Systems of Virginia, a distributor of...

test results for Pentex BioGuard / air supply personal wearable ionizer


Excerpted from: The Air Supply Personal Air Purifier & its Effect on Airborne Bacteria
Imke Schoeder Ph.D., Alan M. Spira M.D., Richard Eric Madrid, B.S.
UCLA Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics,
Los Angeles, CA

Abstract

Respiratory illnesses from airborne contaminants are a common problem in daily living; much effort and energy have been applied to devising systems, such as air filters, to limit infections and allergens. There is a new device, the Air Supply, which is a portable air purification system that has had much subjective success with improving breathing and limiting pulmonary infections. To scientifically evaluate whether this device truly has any measurable effect we have devised a laboratory system to aerosolize bacteria and tested the Air Supply against the airborne microorganisms. We found a significant reduction (>95%) in bacterial growth with the device aimed at the bacterial-laden air stream as compared to controls. This provides objective evidence that Air Supply indeed offers some protection from airborne bacteria: determining the extent of protection and the method of microbial neutralization in conjunction with evaluating other pathogens are considerations for further evaluation and future experiments.

The Air Supply Personal Air Purifier aims to effectively eliminate particle such as bacteria, viruses and allergens from the air. The air purifier, which is compact and lightweight, is worn around the neck by individuals to reduce or even prevent the inhalation of such potentially harmful particles. The goal of this study is to test the effect of the air purifier on bacterial survival and thus provide a scientific basis for its potential beneficial application. In this study the non-pathogenic bacteria Escherichia coli and Paracoccus denitrificans are used as the model organisms, as they resemble certain airborne pathogens.

First, a testing system was devised whereby bacteria were blown towards growth media-filled petri plates and shown to consistently grown on the plates when aerosolized by our system. The system is meant to serve as a model of a human inhaling bacteria: the plates serve in place of nose and mouth. Second, the Air Supply Personal Air Purifier was then placed under the bacteria-laden air stream, and a greater than 95% reduction in bacterial colony counts was observed. Controls included using a disabled Air Supply Personal Air Purifier whose corona discharge was inactivated, yet had a fan installed to reproduce the flow rate of an intact Air Supply, and the results proved that the bacteria-laden air was not simply blown away as the reason for lowered colony counts. Another control included using petri plates spread over the whole chamber, to see if scatter or deflection of the air stream might be another reason for colony count reduction, but this was shown to also not be the case.

These experiments substantiate that the Air Supply Personal Air Purifier does indeed reduce bacterial growth - whether it inhibits or destroys airborne bacteria will need to be elucidated.

 

In a comparison of the BioGuard 1000 Personal Ionizer and the Sharper Image Ionic Breeze Personal Air Purifier, the following results were found: 

  • Sharper Image unit removed 25% of particles after 15 minutes, the Pentex unit removed over 50%

  • Sharper Image unit removed 40-50% of particles after 30 minutes, the Pentex unit removed 80%

  • Sharper Image unit removed 60% of particles after 40 minutes, the Pentex unit removed 90%

  • Sharper Image unit removed 70% of particles after 1 hour, the Pentex unit removed almost 100%

 

Reference Good Housekeeping March 1999

The Good Housekeeping Institute ordered eleven improbable, but promising, catalog items and evaluated them with respected doctors and a physical therapist. Some of the gadgets, we found were helpful even if they didn't work miracles.

Personal Air Purifier

WHAT IT IS: It's an electronic device resembling a beeper that's worn around your neck. THE CLAIMS: Using a revolutionary technology called Corona Discharge to eliminate airborne pollutants, allergens, and viruses, it ejects pure, clean air into your breathing space. Good Housekeeping Institute REALITY CHECK: There volunteers wear-tested this air purifier. Two who are normally sensitive to dust or cat dander believed the product reduced their allergic reactions. (The third, who doesn't suffer from allergies, didn't feet any better.) When Institute engineers enclosed the purifier in a small tank filled with cigarette smoke, the air quickly cleared.

BOTTOM LINE: Good Housekeeping Institute Engineering Director John M. Sun says the air purifier may be worth considering if you 're allergic to smoke or haven't been able to visit a cat owning friend because you wheeze.


"If you can't breathe, nothing else matters"
(American Lung Association)

 

Laboratory & Marketing Test Reports

Note: Testing has been done by the following institutions:

American Environmental Health Foundation Dallas Texas; University at Buffalo, Department of Chemistry; UCLA School of Microbiology, Los Angeles, California; Fuji-TV Product Research Lab, Tokyo, Japan; Columbia University, New York, New York; Electro Synthesis Corporation, New York; Hachi Juu Inc. Tokyo, Japan; Marubeni International, Japan; University of Southern California, Los Angeles; Biomedical Engineering Travel Medicine Center, Los Angeles.

Claims Substantiated are as follows:

  • Helps tobacco smoke, pollens and air-borne germs from being deposited in lungs, on eyes or in nose of wearer.
  • Kills over 90% of all tested germs both round and rod shaped.
  • Destroys many air-borne chemicals and odors.
  • Germs cannot develop resistance and become immune as with drug therapy.
  • Ozone and other oxidant gases emitted are well below human safety threshold and pose no risk to user.

 

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