Blog Tag: mrsa

In August the FDA gave final approval to allow us to market the new APPAIS™ HEPA filtration system to the medical market. The APPAIS  unit is a modified version of the HPS Portable HEPA unit that is designed to eliminate the need for any tools to change any of the three filters that are included with each unit.

The APPAIS unit is designed to provide a Class 100 environment 20″ from the discharge of the HEPA unit. This washed area will be used to administer injections. The syringe will be opened and  pulled  to clear in this sterile area and the patients arm will also be set approximately 10″ to 12″ from the HEPA discharge face. This will ensure that any puncture area will be in a very clean environment thus minimizing the possibility for any airborne particulates or pathogens to enter the patients blood stream thus reducing the possibility for infection.

The APPAIS unit has two slots on the top ends that allow for the placement of either the Polyester Ring Panel prefilter, located on the  air inlet end of the unit, keeps the blower/motor and electrical harness clean and protects the HEPA filter from getting loaded too quickly with large dust and dirt particles. The other slot holds the Splash filter that keeps any human fluids from penetrating the HEPA filter which is located just  behind the Splash filter.

The slots have snap in covers that keep the two filters in place. To eliminate any confusion we have different size slots so the prefilter and Splash filter can only go into their respective openings. The snap in covers are also mated to the openings so again no confusion on location.

In order to maintain a tight seal for the HEPA  gasket we included a knife edge seat section against which the HEPA filter sits in the unit. Compressing the HEPA  against the seal used to require a complicated device that required four screws and a tool to remove and replace the HEPA. The new APPAIS  unit has a simple  compression bar that is placed between the HEPA aluminum face and the first internal mounting frame. By simply twisting the flat compression bar the HEPA body moves back and compresses the gasket onto the knife edge seal creating a very tight seal. Again, no tools are required.

The APPAIS unit is mounted to a five star wheel rolling base stand that is much like a business chair unit with a pneumatic actuator that allows for height adjustment to accommodate for patient sizes and proper arm location. The base also supports the syringe holder so the Doctor or Pharmacists will always have the proper materials right at the APPAIS unit.

Our  initial market will be Pharmacies as they are now doing more injections than Doctors offices especially with Flu and Shingle shots. We hope to have some of our first units in the market by the first quarter of 2015 if not sooner. Look for the all white APPAIS  unit at your favorite Pharmacy the next time you go for your annual flu shot.

You can find out more information on the APPAIS unit at: http://pureairsytems.com or call us at: 800-869-8025.

MRSA or Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus is a bacterium responsible for several difficult-to-treat infections in humans. It is also call mutlidrug resistant Staphylococcus aureus and oxacillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus.

One of the big challenges in treating this type of infection is the growing concern that the existing antibiotics now used to treat MRSA are no longer effective and once the MRSA infection sets in it is often a losing battle to keep the infection from spreading. This issue is now a major reason for new procedures regarding sterilization of all surfaces in hospitals and clinics.

Post-operative infections affect over 5% of the people that enter hospitals for surgery or wound treatments costing hospitals and health insurance companies hundreds of millions of dollars each year. Many of these patients require extensive treatments and often succumb  to the MRSA infections. Hospitals, Clinics, nursing homes and other health care related facilities are all taking special precautions to minimize the possibility of infections recognizing how quickly these types of bacteria can spread by contact.

Pure Air Systems, has been manufacturing commercial grade HEPA air filtration systems since 1985 and has extensive experience in placing its HEPA systems in various types of medical facilities including hospitals, clinics, oncology wards, isolation ( both positive and negative pressure) rooms, pharmaceutical manufacturing and portable surgery suites (both US and overseas). With systems ranging in capacity from 50 CFM to 2,000 CFM and the use of the new variable speed ECM digitally controlled motors, the PAS HEPA units meet and/or exceed the optimum performance requirements to remove or reduce the number of sub-micron airborne particles at a minimum efficiency of 99.99% at 0.3 microns or larger. With efficiency approaching 97% below 0.3 microns.

Over the past 10 years a number of air filter technologies have been tried to compete with HEPA systems in the removal of harmful airborne contaminants. Ozone generators, electronic air cleaners and specially treated filter medias have been used in-lieu of HEPA systems due to their much lower costs and size. However, after many trials of these alternate systems it has been determined that none of these other systems even comes close to the removal efficiency of the HEPA systems, not to mention that these alternate units could only operate in the 50 CFM to 250 CFM range.

HEPA medias are more expensive and require more powerful fan motors to pull the air through the HEPA filters. But is their air restrictive density that allow for the capture of sub-micron particulate and this design feature differentiates the use of HEPA with all other types of air filtration systems and products. Few companies have the know-how to design systems that get the most out HEPA filters and even fewer have systems that can move in excess of 2,000  CFM through these HEPA filters.

The thousands of installations of HEPA units in the past 28 years has provide PAS with the knowledge and experience to properly apply this technology in applications ranging from odor control in police stations to providing clean -room environments for sensitive testing equipment and everything in between.

For more information on the unique HEPA and Carbon based air filtration systems offered by PAS, please go to our website at: www.pureairsystems.com or follow us on Twitter @pureairsystems. If you want to contact us directly you can reach us on our toll-free number at: 800-869-8025.

The prophets of gloom and doom are always out on the side lines predicting the demise of man…self made no less. It seems like every change by a despot or ruler of a foreign county constitutes major peril to the entire world. The  sequester, changing of the guard in North Korea and climate change are but a few of those apocalyptic events that seem to rock the universe. To those problems  I say…Eh!

The truth is there are more real issues in the world that could eliminate or minimize the level of humans who live on this sphere in the universe…and they are very, very tiny. Yes, we are talking about bacteria and viruses. Those tiny, less than 10 micron sized living entities that dominate the earth in astounding numbers. It has been proven that despite man’s attempt to change human kind and the planet we are facing the reality that “nature always finds a  way” to adopt. New pesticides for farmers has generated a new strain of bugs that love the stuff. But the battle of finding new vaccines and antibiotics that will kill the ever evolving drug resistant bacteria and virus strains may just be the one battle we may lose.

There are now serious concerns on the part of the medical community that many people will die as a result of these new drug resistant strains. The fact that the flu vaccine this year had little effect for those who got vaccinated is a good indication of just how fast these new “bugs” evolve.  Close quarters and crowded spaces make the transmission of these airborne pathogens simple and easy. This is also complicated by the transmission of surface born pathogens that can affect hundreds of people that eat in just one restaurant or take a vacation on a cruise ship.

Airborne bacteria and many viruses can be removed from the air by using commercial grade, certified HEPA based air filtration devices. Systems such as those produced by Pure Air Systems, have the ability to move up to 2000 CFM of HEPA filtered air and come in a wide range of sizes and configurations. Since 1985, Pure Air Systems has been manufacturing these high end, commercial grade, high performance HEPA systems that are now used around the world. Many of the PAS systems are used in hospitals, clean rooms, clinics, laboratories and critical applications where reduction and or removal of  harmful airborne particulate is required.

The PAS systems are currently used in applications including, institutional, industrial, residential, medical, commercial and governmental. In many instances, the PAS systems are the only HEPA unit available on the market that can provide the type of sub-micron particulate removal needed to ensure the safety of people and equipment.  The PAS line of HEPA and Carbon based systems can either be attached to existing air handlers or HVAC equipment or be used as stand-alone systems.

For more information on the complete line of air filtration systems available from PAS please go to our website at: www.pureairsystems.com or follow us on Twitter @pureairsystems. You can also call us on our toll-free number at: 800-869-8025.

Antibiotic resistance is the ability of bacteria or other microbes to resist the effects of an antibiotic. Antibiotic resistance occurs when bacteria changes in some way that reduces or eliminates the effectiveness of drugs, chemicals, or other agents designed to cure or prevent infections. The bacteria survive and continue to multiply causing more harm.

Antibiotic resistance has been called one of the world’s most pressing public health problems. Almost every type of bacteria has become stronger and less responsive to antibiotic treatment when it is really needed. These antibiotic-resistant bacteria can quickly spread to family members, schoolmates, and co-workers- threatening the community with a new strain of infectious disease that is more difficult to cure and more expensive to treat. Recently reports that a new strain of TB has become resistant to all known antibiotics designed to kill the TB bacteria has caused great concern throughout the medical industry.

HEPA filters have been around since 1941. Originally designed to protect the scientists working with radioactive material during the development of the atomic bomb, HEPA filters and their sisters  Scanned HEPA, ULPA and SULPA filters are the only non-mechanical air filtration medias capable of removing almost 100% of all bacteria and up to 90% of some viruses. HEPA filters are used by hospitals, clinics, laboratories, clean rooms, the CDC and the military. For absolute removal of harmful sub-micron particles nothing works as well as HEPA filter media.

Pure Air Systems has been manufacturing true HEPA based air filtration systems since 1985. These systems are being used in the commercial, institutional, industrial, medical and residential markets and in applications across the North America, Asia and Europe. Designed to be used either attached to existing HVAC systems or as stand-alone units, the HEPA systems by Pure Air Systems are considered the most effective, durable, technically advanced units on the market today.

Many of the customers that use the PAS units are operations that deal with protecting patients or medical personnel from airborne pathogens and allergens. Hospitals have isolation rooms or wards where either immuno-supressed patients or patients with communicable diseases are treated. HEPA systems are used in these applications because they offer the greatest protection for all concerned parties. PAS also has a number of units in correctional or Homeland Security type operations where indigents and illegal aliens are detained, some of whom may carry the TB bacteria or other airborne transmitted diseases.

PAS makes a range of sizes in their HEPA line up. The new HPS series portable units are being used by commercial customers as well as many home owners. Since all the the HEPA systems are capable of being used either in conjunction with the existing heating/cooling systems or as stand-alone units, there are few areas where the PAS HEPA systems can’t be employed.  Repeat purchases of the units from many of the customers is a true testimonial to the superior performance and reliability of the PAS HEPA systems.

For more information on the complete line of HEPA and Carbon based air filtration systems offered by Pure Air Systems please go to our website at: www.pureairsystems.com or like us on our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/pureairsystems or follow us on Twitter @pureairsytems. Of course you can also call us during normal working hours on our toll-free number at: 800-869-8025.

For most people the word hospital conjures up a feeling of safety, help, relief, life saving and comfort. The doctors and nurses are highly trained and skilled at providing medical treatment for any type of physical trauma, disease or malady. The operating rooms are filled with  the most advanced diagnostic and surgical equipment money can buy. The rooms are all under positive pressure using 100% HEPA filtered air to eliminate the possibility of infection. During the operation you are protected by this very sterile environment. However, once you leave the operating room everything changes.

Depending upon which source you use, post operative infections account for over 100,000 deaths in the US every year. This does not include the number of patients  affected that have to return to the hospital or require follow-up treatment to deal with infections incurred while being treated in the hospital. And there is a good reason to be concerned. Treating some of the infections has been challenged by bacteria that have become resistant to all the standard antibiotics. But there is one way to minimize the expensive and devastating consequences of post operative infections.

As noted in the beginning of this blog the operating rooms utilize HEPA filters to eliminate the possibility of any airborne pathogens that may pose a potential risk for infection. Often some recovery rooms for patients the have received bone marrow transplants or have a weakened immune system due to a specific treatment, use HEPA filtered air in the rooms and these rooms, like operating rooms, are pressurized.

Pure Air Systems has been manufacturing HEPA and Carbon based, commercial grade air filtration systems since 1985. They use only certified, scanned HEPA filters in their heavy duty, all steel housed systems. The PAS units also incorporate the ECM style variable speed motors that are rated 120/240 volt, 50/60 Hz motors. These motors not only use less electricity but can be digitally controlled for best air flow to match required filtration performance.

The PAS HEPA systems are used in many commercial applications and a large number are utilized by hospitals, clinics and medical facilities in the U.S. and around the world. These compact, high volume units can both pressurize and provide 100% HEPA filtered air in medium sized operating rooms as well as isolation rooms and individual patient rooms. For medical facilities requiring a cost effective method for minimizing or eliminating infections in their facilities, the PAS units offer superior performance at a cost that is considerably less than the cost of treating patients with severe infections.

Today, over 60% of the PAS HEPA systems are used in the residential and light commercial markets. For patients returning home from long hospital stays using one of the various central HEPA systems by PAS can be of significant value. Also, PAS makes a unique, high volume portable HEPA unit that can be used effectively in any single room application. In either case, these HEPA systems can make the difference between a significant recovery or continued treatment for infection.

For more information on the complete line of HEPA and Carbon based filtration systems please go to our website at: www.pureairsystems.com . Or you can reach us on Twitter: @pureairsystems. Call us during normal business hours on our toll-free number. 800-869-8025.