Posts Tagged Hospitals
Ambient scenting systems put to work in UK hospitals
UK ambient scenting company Signature Aromas has been placing their essential oil-based systems in hospitals to help reduce infections from airborne pathogens. The company’s Purazone system has been shown to be effective in destroying the deadly superbugs MRSA and C. diff, as well as many bacteria and fungi. The Purazone is under clinical trial at New Cross Hospital in Wolverhampton. According to the company, trial results will be ready before the summer. Meanwhile, you can look at the impressive kill rates they’ve got so far.
Coincidentally, this is exactly one year after an Air Sense post about the initial UK trials (see Scent machines used in war against hospital superbug).
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2 comments April 23, 2008
Spanish hospital adopts olfactory marketing
Marbella’s USP Hospital has begun an ambient scenting program in an effort to keep its patients feeling good. They’ve got the scent of talcum powder in the pediatric area, and aromas of wood and peach throughout the rest of the hospital. The scenting is part of the private clinic’s olfactory marketing strategy, which will soon be implemented at USP clinics throughout Spain.
Read more at SUR
1 comment March 15, 2008
Scenting: ambient market surpasses personal market
Personal fragrances are so yesterday. What’s happening is ambient scenting. International Flavors and Fragrances (IFF) Chairman Robert Amen estimates that the “functional fragrance” market now doubles the size of the personal fragrance market. In an article published Friday in Women’s Wear Daily, Amen discusses the market shift toward functional fragrance and how it relates to the shift in direction for IFF.
IFF has been exploring several new avenues. The company’s perfumer Christophe Laudamiel designed and implemented the ambient scenting for the World Economic Forum. They’re working on encapsulation technology, where fragrance is released in response to pressure (such as in scented fabric and print advertisements) for other products such as lotion. And they’ve been exploring ways to use scent in hospital settings as a way to speed the recovery process for trauma victims.
Read more at Women’s Wear Daily
Add comment February 17, 2008
Kids undergo sniff test
Minneapolis’ Children’s Hospital has been studying how kids of different ethnic backgrounds interpret different smells. This study is among the first scholarly research on the effects of ethnicity and gender on kids attitudes toward fragrances. The study involved kids from Hmong, African, and African-American backgrounds, sniffing fragrances that are being used in medicine to help deal with anxiety, nausea and headaches. Read more in the Minneapolis Star Tribune
Add comment November 12, 2007
Ozone used to disinfect hospitals from MRSA and other bugs
A British company unveiled a disinfecting machine using a new technology that can kill up to 99.99% of airborne bacteria and viruses. The machines, developed by Inov8 Science, mix the naturally-occurring ozone in the air with olefins, producing a cascade of hydroxyl radicals, which kill viruses and bacteria, including the deadly and rampant MRSA. Olefins are the molecules of the scent of flowers and plants, and are supplied via cartridges in the machine that need replacing monthly. The machines are designed for a 10 to 100 square meter room. Read more in HES Magazine, or at the company’s web site
Add comment September 2, 2007
Scent machines used in war against hospital superbug
Originally designed to mask unpleasant odors on hospital wards, scent machines in a U.K. hospital are also being tested for their ability to prevent infection. The machine disperses a special recipe of particular essential oils that attack MRSA, a hospital-borne superbug that kills up to 5,000 U.K. hospital patients each year and countless others throughout the world. In a 9-month trial of one essential oil-dispersing machine on a ward, infection on the ward was significantly reduced and airborne bacterial counts were reduced by 90%. To read more about the study, see BBC.
1 comment April 23, 2007
