Innovation Partners for Aerobiology & Biomedical Research

Gabriel Scientific, in conjunction with airmid healthgroup, launched The Pillow Check Up 2013 on RTE Radio 1’s The Mooney Show on the 17th of April.

Listeners were invited to send their pillows for analysis at airmid healthgroup’s laboratories to measure the levels of mould, allergens and bacteria present in pillows around Ireland. The results revealed that one third of pillows sampled had evidence of dust mite allergen. All of the pillows were found to harbour bacteria, just under a third of which at high levels, while half contained detectable levels of mould. A variety of mould and bacterial species were identified including Candida, Aspergillus, Rhodoltorula, and Streptococcus.

airmid enjoyed a highly successful few days attending the Heimtextil Trade Fair in Frankfurt, Germany. As always it was an extremely impressive trade fair with a vast array of exhibitors from all around the world in the enormous trade fair centre that is Messe Frankfurt.

airmid healthgroup's mission is to help our clients with products and services for the built environment to improve their customer offerings through health related innovations and marketing. As textiles in bedding, floor coverings and soft furnishings contribute hugely to the built environment, this is a key trade show for us.

Textiles can have an enormous impact on the chemical emissions in the indoor environment as well as the ability to reduce exposure to indoor particulates including airborne pathogens and aeroallergens. OEKO-TEX certification was very well represented, particularly in the bedding hall, which is of benefit in controlling chemicals in textiles. A number of clients displayed textile products with claims relevant to indoor health such as allergen filtration efficacy and antibacterial properties. However there appeared to be little standardisation to the various claims. airmid had a number successful meetings looking at regulations, certification testing and claim verification with a number of bedding groups across the natural and synthetic sectors.

The 2012 Annual Meeting of the American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology (ACAAI) concluded today having run from November 8th-13th in Anaheim, California. The meeting offered an exciting array of educational sessions for physicians and allied health professionals, as well as some fantastic social events.

The New York Times recently published an article in its health section on the problem of ultrafine particles following a recent study published out of Australia. The study has raised serious concerns as to the safety of many of today’s most popular vacuum cleaners but is it confined to vacuum cleaners?

    by Dr Bruce Mitchell, CEO Airmid Healthgroup and Consultant Immunologist

That the emission of ultrafine particles from certain Vacuum Cleaners which incorporate HEPA based filtration can result in consumers being exposed to bacterial fragments, and other noxious particulate materials is of concern and some surprise.

However, recognising that the composition of household dust includes bacteria, viruses, mold and toxins, and with a knowledge of their associated particle sizes, perhaps it should not be surprising.