air purifiers & sterilizers

Bacteria, funghi & virus control

Bactokill Air Purifier

The Problem

Airborne bacteria and viruses, such as MRSA, SARS, etc., have built up a resistance and become immune to most antibiotics. Therefore cross-infection in public areas (such as hospitals, surgeries, waiting rooms, offices) is potentially very dangerous should an outbreak occur. This coupled with the prediction of more super viruses has made airborne sterilization even more essential.

The Solution

UVc radiation is known to destroy the DNA in living matter and has shown, under proper conditions of exposure and intensity, to exhibit lethal anti-microbial effects against bacteria, fungi and virus particles. Working with PHILIPS Lighting and incorporating 2 x 60w high intensity UVc lamps, in two air chambers, BactoKill controls the dwell time of air passing through these chambers and over the UVc lamps. During this dwell time the bacteria, moulds and viruses are virtually eliminated (see independent test results).

Features

• 2 x High intensity Philips UVC lamps
• Unique twin air chamber
• Twin speed fan for versatility
• Low running costs
• Portable or easy to permanently install
• Accredited laboratory tested and CE compliant
• Safety interlocks on guard
• Optional fragrance dispensing
• Stainless steel case with aluminium interior for lightness

Fragrance

The BactoKill also features a natural oil aroma system on the air outlet. This will give clients the opportunity to use one of the C.O.S.S.H. approved aromas to improve ambiance, patient/staff conditions in the vicinity of the BactoKill. This unique addition to the air purifier will be especially welcome in barrier nursing, side wards, waiting rooms, staff areas etc.

Servicing

The only servicing required is occasional filter cleaning (on the air inlet side) and an annual lamp change to keep the BactoKill working efficiently.

Room sizes/coverage

The 18.5 litres per second speed rate destroys an average of 97.5% of all bacteria shown on the table for Trial 1, in one pass.

The slower speed of 14 litres per second, gives a greater than 99.99% kill rate of all bacteria on the table in one pass. The recommended room sizes would therefore be proportionately smaller.

Recommended areas for siting the Bactokill

Hospitals, Surgeries, Consulting rooms, Waiting rooms, Offices, Nurseries, Food manufacturing, Food preparation rooms, Staff rooms, Nursing homes, Homes etc.

Testing

BactoKill was designed and developed to carry out a very important function - that of destroying airborne bacteria and viruses. Therefore independent testing was essential. Preliminary testing was carried out by the microbiological laboratories at Coventry University. Final testing was done by Microsearch Laboratories of Halifax, UK (a UKAS accredited, DEFRA authorised contract laboratory, authorised to handle class II pathogens). They carried out a thorough test programme, both in the laboratory and field trials in areas known to exhibit unacceptable levels of microbial activity.

Field Trial 1

This involved studies in a laundry storage area (28.7m3) which exhibited defined problems with airborne bacteria and moulds. During this trial air quality was monitored every 4 hours for a 3 week period with no UVc treatment. During a second 3 week monitoring period, the effect of UVc treatment, due to the BactoKill device, was determined using the same sampling plan. Recovery of isolates was by impaction onto solid agar plates using a Cassella sampling device.

The laundry room was a very active area in terms of general usage, people hours and formite movement. There were on average 37 area visits per day with approximately 70% turnover of soiled materials. In the presence of such effects high replacement rates of airborne contaminants were likely due to movement and the flow of soiled materials stored in this facility. Microsearch Laboratories noted 'that within this volatile environment it was impressive that in the case of bacterial isolates, the BactoKill device produced between 91-96% kill rate on a continual basis for bacteria and an 88.3% kill rate for yeasts and moulds at an airflow rate of 18.5 litres per second.'

Field Trial 2

The second field trial was conducted at an industrial laboratory which had a known mould problem (primarily Neurospora species) occurring in a sample storage incubator. In this trial daily control measurements were conducted over a 30 day period followed by the same protocol with the BactoKill device in operation.

In this trial very high efficiencies were achieved over a 30 day period where environmental mould levels were reduced by greater than 99.9% during continuous operation, representing an impressive overall 3.1 log cycles of reduction.

Conclusion

The independent test report concluded:

'The BactoKill performed impressively during single pass challenge trials with all categories of micro-organisms employed in the trials. Further, no deficiency in performance was detected during field trials and on this basis BactoKill can be recommended as an important tool in the maintenance of sanitary environments.'