Page 43 - HaMizrachi Tisha BAv 2021 USA 4fb_Neat

simultaneously establishing its own inde-
pendent production plant.
The potential risk for airborne transmission
of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-
19, has brought awareness for safer indoor
environments in the spotlight. And this need
has put a small Israeli company, with an
artificial intelligence technology solution
to purify and manage indoor air quality, at
the heart of the battle on how to keep public
indoor spaces open and safe.

You can see the haze and you can see the
smog, so people know about outdoor air
quality. But no one was paying enough
attention to the indoor environment. COVID-
19 has made sure people are now paying positive and negative ions to purify and 1,500 units per month, Aura Air now pro-
attention. And Aura Air has been working
around the clock to satisfy the demand. freshen indoor air and continue to eliminate duces close to 10,000 units per month and
harmful pollutants. while more expensive, all packaging is made
of 100% recycled and recyclable materials.
COVID-19 is Not the Whole Story Through the accompanying app, you can see
the volatile organic compounds (VOC) which
But COVID-19 is not the only harmful are emitted as gases, humidity levels (if the Research Shows
airborne particle to be found in our envi- indoor relative humidity is above 60 percent
ronment: Particles of dust (PM2.5, PM 10), then mold and mildew begin to form), and Following the challenges faced with infec-
pollen, insects, animal hair, volatile organic CO and CO2 levels as compared to the local tions in hospitals, at the beginning of August
compounds (VOCs), bad odors, viruses such outdoor conditions. There are airborne par- 2019, Aura Air and The Department of Gen-
as influenza H1N1 ( known as the swine flu) ticles, gases, and aerosols carrying viruses eral and Oncological Surgery at The Chaim
and H5N1 (known as the bird flu), and bac- in the air. If you cannot smell it, you think Sheba Medical Center in Ramat Gan, Israel,
teria like E-Coli and MRSA. All are found in experimented with the implementation of
the indoor air we breathe every day. everything is fine. The app was created to air purifiers to disinfect and purify the air
help visualize the problems. from various pollutants.
With 25% of Americans staying indoors
for 21-24 hours daily and with the aver- The user can add categories – if they are In previous experiments run by Aura Air,
age Brit spending 22 hours a day indoors, asthmatic or allergic to dust, the sensors will and in the pilot at Sheba Medical Center,
COVID-19 highlighted the great need to create an indoor air quality environment it was demonstrated that the filter made
constantly purify and disinfect our indoor to suit these needs. Moreover, the app can by the company successfully managed to
environments. highlight relevant high-risk scenarios and filter a series of high-risk pathogens includ-
notify the user of what needs to be disin- ing various viruses, such as Influenza H1N1
Aura Air fected or purified. and Influenza H5N1. In May 2020, the com-
Creation and manufacturing are all com- pany began a clinical experiment to test
The Aura Air platform detects air quality
indoor and outdoor on real-time monitoring pleted in the Aura Air factory located in Beit the effectiveness of Aura Air’s disinfection
through an array of smart sensors, filtering El, Israel. While production once stood at capabilities on the Coronavirus, with results
and disinfecting air through four unique
stages: Coronavirus Reduction Ratio (normalized results)
First, the pre-filter catches large particles of Sample Duration of Treatment
dust, pollen, insects, animal hair and other
large particles. The pre-filter also absorbs 10 mins. 20 min. 30 min.
VOCs and bad odors and filters viruses, and Aura Air treated Low AIBV conc. 99.99999 99.99975 100
bacteria. The Ray-Filter™ then neutralizes
bacteria, viruses, and parasites. Then a UVC Aura Air treated High AIBV conc. 99.98325 99.93515 99.6845
LED component and a Sterionizer™ generate

| 43