A Unique Solution to Real Time Pollen Monitoring

Plair have recently launched the Rapid-E, an award-winning instrument that offers an easy solution to counting allergens in air at a new level of speed and precision never seen before.

In addition, Plair also launched a new service, at the recent Meteorological Technology World Expo, which offers allergy professionals and technicians in the environmental and weather monitoring sectors reliable and affordable automatic pollen monitoring.

This service offers the data from the optical Rapid-E instrument for real time monitoring of airborne particles. Artificial intelligence facilitates Rapid-E’s capability to automatically identify and count the most common allergenic types of pollen. This versatile instrument also features a housing that can withstand constant outdoor operation at temperatures ranging from -30 degrees C to 45 degrees C. Also incorporated in to the Rapid-E is a weather station to include simultaneous weather monitoring data.

Rapid-E is simple to use and is free from software or dataloggers. This service will deliver to Plair’s clients analysed, real data which is displayed on the ‘PlairGrid’ online dashboard. PlairGrid is exclusive to Plair’s clientele and allows them to carry out hourly, or daily, counts of various types of pollen, as well as calculating total pollen and particulate levels.

The Rapid-E operates on a proprietary, laser sensing technology system, based on research carried out at the University of Geneva. This is the only instrument capable of performing instant and automatic counts of a variety of individual pollen species. It offers real time data and enables meteorological and environmental services to improve their forecasting accuracy and alert the local population of situations likely to exacerbate respiratory diseases, hay fever and asthma.

There are over 150 million EU citizens who suffer from hay fever or asthma, which costs an estimated $50 billion each year in healthcare. The level of pollen induced respiratory problems is consistently on the increase and the European Federation of Asthma and Allergy Associations estimate that more than 50% of the EU’s population will suffer from a pollen related allergy by 2025. These conditions can strike indiscriminate of age, social status or geographical location.

The current system of airborne allergen detection of pollen and fungal spores is carried out by a manual method of analysis, using a microscope, which means that data can take 2 – 8 days before it becomes available. This means that forecasts can be inaccurate and out of date and allow little or no time for allergy sufferers to react, which leads to further hospitalisations and additional medical costs. Rapid-E offers a solution that will offer rest-assured accuracy in enough time to take appropriate action and thus alleviate the suffering of millions of people and save vast amounts of money.