Resources
Articles
Developing the Case for Implementation of Operating Room Air Decontamination Technology for Orthopedic Surgery
September 2018
Patient-Centered Care: Understanding Patient Perception of Sugical Infection Prevention Technology
March 2019
The Case for Cleaner OR Air
May 2019
Is It Time to Rethink Air Quality in the OR?
November 2019
Contaminated Air and Surgical Infection Associated With Implant Procedures
November 2019
White Papers
SARS-CoV-2 Bioaerosol Removal by the Aerobiotix Ultraviolet Filtration System
August 2020
Preventing surgical-site infections: Measures other than antibiotics
2015
Barnes Crystalline C-UVC Inactivation
2017
Reduction of Particles in the Operating Room Using Ultraviolet Air Disinfection and Recirculation Units
2017
Reduction of Total and Viable Air Particles
2017
Consensus Meeting on Musculoskeletal Infection
2018
Total and viable airborne particles during orthopedic surgical procedures
2018
Viable Airborne Particle Generation and Illuvia with Diathermy
2018
Impact of Supplemental Intraoperative Air Decontamination on PJI
2018
AJIC Impact of a novel mobile high-effciency particulate air-ultraviolet air recirculation system
May 2019
Messina European Journal of Public Health
2019
Air and Suface Pathogen Reduction
June 2020
Industry Updates
Patented Technology proven to KILL COVID-19 Aerobiovac Canada distributes the ONLY Air Decontamination System scientifically proven to KILL the SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) virus on a SINGLE pass
January 2021
Arrival of COVID-19 vaccine brings new warnings about pandemic scams
December 2020
‘I’ve been preaching this for months and nobody has been listening’
December 2020
Aerobiotix Awarded Premier, Inc. Group Purchasing Contract to Provide Air Disinfection Technology to Premier Member Hospitals
December 2017
Let’s clear the air
January 2017
A mobile device reducing airborne particulate can improve air quality
2020
New First-Ever Independent Evaluation Demonstrates That the Aerobiotix ILLUVIA® Air Disinfection System Removes Airborne SARS-CoV-2 Under Direct Aerosol Testing
September 2020
Visual demonstration investigates the efficacy of plexiglass amid the pandemic
December 2020
Ski resorts in Western Canada hit by COVID-19 outbreaks despite business slump
Jnauary 2021
Evidence
A mobile device reducing airborne particulate can improve air quality
Airborne Bacteria in the OR reduced by HUAIRS
The Effect of a Novel Air Decontamination Recirculation System on Viable Airborne Particulates
Outcome Study Scanning Electron Microscopy of Operating Theatre Air
Definitions & Acronyms
| Term | Description | Source |
|---|---|---|
| ACH | Air Changes Per Hour | ASHRAE |
| Airborne disease | A disease that is caused by a pathogen that can be transmitted through the air by very small particles called aerosols, which have the ability to remain suspended in the air over considerable time and distance. | ASHRAE |
| Aerosol generating procedure (AGP) | Procedures that are likely to induce coughing. Procedures that are believed to generate aerosols and droplets as a source of respiratory pathogens include positive pressure ventilation (bi-level positive airway pressure [BiPAP] and continuous positive airway pressure [CPAP]), endotracheal intubation, airway suction, high-frequency oscillatory ventilation, tracheostomy, chest physiotherapy, nebulizer treatment, sputum induction, and bronchoscopy. AGPs should ideally take place in an airborne infection isolation room (AIIR). | CDC |
| Aerosol, infectious | An infectious aerosol is a system of liquid or solid particles uniformly distributed in a finely divided state through a gas, usually air. (They are small and buoyant enough to behave much like a gas yet they can be filtered out of the gas.) | ASHRAE PD |
| Aerosol, Short-range transmission | Transmitting disease by inhalation of aerosols near the source. The distance for this transmission has not been studied beyond two meters. | CIDRAP |
| Age of Air | The time that has elapsed after the air enters a space (at any given point.) | DMHC |
| Air change rate | Airflow in volume units per hour divided by the building space volume in identical volume units (normally expressed in air changes per hour [ACH or ACPH]) | DMHC |
| Air irritant | A particle or volatile chemical in air that causes physiological response when in contact with mucosa in the eye, nose, or throat. | DMHC |
| Air volume migration | The volume of air that is exchanged during room entry/exit (through a door-way between a room and the area beyond its door) | DMHC |
| Air, exhaust | Air removed from a space and discharged outside the building by mechanical or natural ventilation systems. | DMHC |
| Air, makeup | Any combination of outdoor and transfer air intended to replace exhaust air and exfiltration. | DMHC |
| Air, outdoor | (1) Air outside a building or taken from the outdoors and not previously circulated through the system; (2) Ambient air that enters a building through a ventilation system, through intentional openings for natural ventilation, or by infiltration. |
DMHC |
| Air, recirculated | Air removed from a space and reused as supply air. | DMHC |
| Air, supply | Air delivered by mechanical or natural ventilation to a space that is composed of any combination of outdoor air, recirculated air, or transfer air. | DMHC |
| Air, transfer | Air moved from one indoor space to another. | DMHC |
| Airborne droplet nuclei | Small-particle residue (5 µm or smaller) of evaporated droplets containing microorganisms that remain suspended in air and can be dispersed widely by air currents with a room or over a long distance. | DMHC |
| Airborne infection isolation room (AIIR) | A room designed with negative pressurization to protect patients and people outside the room from the spread of microorganisms (transmitted airborne droplet nuclei) that infect the patient inside the room. | DMHC |
| Airborne infectious agent | An airborne particle that can cause an infection. | DMHC |
| Airborne pathogen | An airborne particle that can cause disease. | DMHC |
| Airborne transmission | Airborne transmission is defined as "dissemination of either airborne droplet nuclei or small particles in the respirable size range containing infectious agents that remain infective over time and distance." An important requirement of airborne transmission is that it can occur only at a long distance from the source, according to the CDC. | CIDRAP |
| Air-cleaning system | A device or combination of devices used to reduce the concentration of airborne contaminants, such as microorganisms, dust, fumes, respirable particles, other particulate matter, gases and/or vapors in air. Related term: HEPA Filter. | DMHC |
| ASHRAE | American Society of Heating, Refriderating and Air Conditioning Engineers | ASHRAE |
| Bioaerosol | Particles or droplets suspended in air that consist of or contain biological matter such as bacteria, pollens, fungi, skin flakes, and viruses. | DMHC |
| Building air infiltration | Uncontrolled inward leakage of air (that may contain entrained water vapor) through cracks and interstices in any building element and around windows and doors of a building, caused by the pressure effects of wind or the effect of differences in the indoor and outdoor air density. | DMHC |
| CADR | Clean Air Delivery Rate which is the combined effect of actually how much air is moved through the filter and the filter efficiency. | AHAM AC-1 |
| CFM | Cubic Feet Per Minute | |
| CFM/P | Cubic Feet Per Minute Per person | |
| Clinical test | The collection of information on an individual, usually through the performance of medical tests or physical exams. | |
| Clinical trial | "A clinical study that examines and assesses the effects of a novel treatment, if it is safe, and if it works in people. Clinical trials are classified in 4 phases: Phase I: The first time a new treatment or vaccine is tested in humans, it will usually be given to a small group of healthy volunteers, usually less than 50 participants. The principal objectives in Phase I are to make sure that the new medicine or vaccine presents no major safety issues, clarify that it can reach the targeted body area, remains there long enough to deliver its benefits, and gain preliminary evidence that it could offer therapeutic value, or prevent the disease or condition. Phase II: If Phase I is successful, approval will be sought for a trial involving a larger group of people, usually several hundreds of participants. Phase II trials will typically include patients who have the disease the potential medicine is targeting and aim to establish the efficacy of the treatment or vaccine in treating or preventing the disease, and identify the optimal dose. Phase III: If the results from Phase II are encouraging, a Phase III trial is conducted, which involves several hundreds to several thousands of participants coming from different countries. The objectives in Phase III are to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of the new treatment or vaccine in the typical patient likely to use it in clinical practice and identify side effects. If a new treatment or vaccine completes Phase III with positive results, regulatory approval might be sought. Phase IV trials evaluate the treatment or vaccine after approval and frequently evaluates longer-term effects or compares effectiveness and safety of the new treatment with effectiveness and safety of established treatments. It typically involves several hundreds to several thousands of participants" |
ASHRAE |
| Contaminant or Pollutant | Any impurity, any material of an extraneous nature, associated with a chemical, a pharmaceutical preparation, a phuysiologic principle, or an infectious agent. | DMHC |
| Contaminant, airborne | An unwanted airborne constituent that may reduce the acceptability of air. | DMHC |
| Contamination | The act of contaminating, especially the introduction of disease germs or infectious material into or on normally sterile objects. | DMHC |
| COVID-19 | COVID-19 is the short name for “coronavirus disease 2019" COVID-19. A respiratory illness, formerly known as the 2019 novel coronavirus, caused by the virus SARS-CoV-2. | WHO |
| Cubicle | A space intended for human occupancy that has at least one opening and no door and is enclosed on three sides with full height or partial height partitions. | FGI |
| Droplet transmission | Droplet transmission is defined as "respiratory droplets carrying infectious pathogens that transmit infection when they travel directly from the respiratory tract of the infectious individual to susceptible mucosal surfaces of the recipient, generally over short distances, necessitating facial protection." Close contact involves hand transfer of surface contamination to mouth, nose or eyes, hand washing and gloves being common controls. | CIDRAP |
| Efficacy | How beneficial a test, treatment, or public health intervention is under ideal conditions (for example, in a laboratory), compared with doing nothing or opting for another type of care. * | |
| Epidemic | The rapid spread of a disease to a large number of people in a population. | |
| Epidemiology | Study of the distribution and determinants of disease. | DMHC |
| Essential work | Work that is considered critical to protecting life, health, or public functioning. In Ontario, essential work in the context of SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19 includes, but is not limited to, grocery store workers, gas station workers, truck drivers, long-term care home staff, trades workers, health care workers, first responders, warehouse and distribution workers, and manufacturing workers. This is synonymous with essential services. | |
| HEPA filter (or absolute filter) | High efficiency particle air filter with an efficiency of 99.97% removal of particulates larger than 0.30 microns. | DMHC |
| Infection prevention and control (IPAC) | A multidisciplinary field that applies evidence-based practices and procedures to health care settings to reduce the transmission of infection. | ASHRAE |
| Influenza | A family of viruses that cause the respiratory illness commonly known as the “flu”. The severity of infection with influenza can be mild, with symptoms such as fever and cough, or severe, manifesting as injury to the lungs that require mechanical ventilation. | ASHRAE |
| Intensive care rooms (ICU)(also critical care rooms CCU) | Rooms in which the level of patient care and electronic monitoring of patients are greatly increased over conventional patient rooms. | FGI |
| Peer review | A review of a study, service or recommendation by those with similar interests and expertise to the people who produced it to make sure a study and the report describing it are accurate and valid.* | ASHRAE |
| MERV | Minimum Efficiency Reporting Value: The fraction of particles removed from air passing through a filter is termed “filter efficiency” | ASHRAE 52.2-2017 |
| Occupationally acquired infection | An infection acquired while working in a medical care setting. | DMHC |
| Opportunistic organism | An ordinarily non-infectious agent that becomes infectious in an immunocompromised host. (any novel organism, especially aerosolized respiratory viruses for which there is no vaccine or herd immunity becomes an opportunistic organism.) | DMHC |
| PPE | Personal Preotective Equipment is equipment worn to minimize exposure to hazards that cause serious workplace injuries and illnesses. | Occupational Safety and Health Administration, PPE |
| Room | A space enclosed by hard walls and having a door. | FGI |
| SARS-CoV-2 | Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome CoronaVirus 2, SARS is An viral respiratory disease caused by SARS-CoV-1, a coronavirus genetically related to SARS-CoV-2. | International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses (ICTV) |
| UV | Ultraviolet irradiation. | DMHC |
| UVC | Ultra Violet C Light | |
| UVGI | Ultraviolet germicidal irradiation. | DMHC |
| Ventilation | A process of supplying air to or removing air from a space for the purpose of controlling air contaminant levels, humidity, or temperature within the space. Such air may or may not have been conditioned. | DMHC |
| Ventilation effectiveness | The ability of a system to remove contaminants generated by a source in a room. | DMHC |
| VOC | Volatile Organic Compound are emitted as gases from certain solids or liquids. VOCs include a variety of chemicals, some of which may have short- and long-term adverse health effects. Concentrations of many VOCs are consistently higher indoors (up to ten times higher) than outdoors. | ASHRAE |