New study shows: air purifiers significantly reduce aerosol infection risk with insufficient window ventilation

• New study examines aerosol infection risk with window ventilation compared with antiviral air purifier AiroDoctor
• Innovative air purifier reduces infection risk equally well or significantly better compared to window ventilation, best result achieved by a combination of both
• As schools reopen, intensive window ventilation is a major challenge, experts call for air purifiers
  

Study examines aerosol infection risk reduction with traditional window ventilation and air purifiers

For a joint study from the Korea Institute of Construction Technology (KICT) and Yonsei University in Seoul published in the Korea Association for Particle and Aerosol Research Journal in September 2020, researchers investigated the risk of infection from infectious aerosols in a 50-square-meter daycare room containing one infected and 10 uninfected children. Different ventilation regimes were studied in each scenario (every two hours to more than three times per hour), which were compared to the performance of the AiroDoctor antiviral air purifier.
Further scenarios simulated the reduction of the risk of infection with regular ventilation in combination with simultaneous air purifier operation.

Download study: effect of risk reduction with window ventilation and the operation of anti-viral air-conditioning devices on the spread of infectious diseases

Additional use of air purifiers such as the AiroDoctor® significantly reduces risk of infection

The study clearly demonstrates the importance of air purifiers in daycare centers and schools to reduce the risk of infection via infectious aerosols. This was particularly noticeable when frequent window ventilation was not possible. For example, if the room was ventilated only every two hours, window ventilation itself reduced the risk by only 8%, while the AiroDoctor operated in the same time reduced the risk by an additional 48%. The total reduction was 56%. If the windows were ventilated every half hour, the AiroDoctor reduced the risk by an additional 35% to a total of almost 70%. Only frequent window ventilation performed as well as continuous operation of the air purifier in terms of infection risk (60% risk reduction each). And even here, a combination of both reduced the risk of infection by a further 17% to a total of 77%.

"This study shows us once again how important professional air purifiers are for use in daycare centers and schools. With the AiroDoctor® we want to help reduce the risk of infection via aerosols for children and young people. We furthermore believe that quiet and emission-free operation is particularly important at this point."
- Carsten Hermann, CEO ScreenSource GmbH and
co-developer of AiroDoctor

AiroDoctor is making progress globally with additional certifications and approvals.

Currently in the United States, the AiroDoctor meets U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) requirements for U.S. commercial distribution as a medical device during the COVID-19 public health emergency. While it has not yet been FDA-cleared or approved for broader use, it is compliant with the FDA enforcement policy for medical ultraviolet air purifiers.

"We have already started the process to apply for full FDA review and approval of 510(k) Class II to take AiroDoctor’s medical device approval beyond the pandemic. ISO-13485 certification has approximately 95% overlap with the FDA, so we are confident with receiving approval, but of course, will follow proper steps for the FDA’s complete review."
- Carsten Hermann, CEO ScreenSource GmbH and co-developer of AiroDoctor