Company Profile
History and Achievements
Aerobiology Research has been an innovative leader in highly accurate and scientific aeroallergen data throughout Canada since 1994. Prior to incorporation in 1993 the founder, Lee Coates, at the Ottawa Civic Hospital, Ontario, Canada, had conducted aeroallergen research for several years. Aerobiology Research Laboratories has developed highly innovative programs for accurate and leading edge aeroallergen counts and pollen forecasts. These programs are unique to our company and have evolved over the past 15 years to ensure the highest standard of aeroallergen reporting. For this reason, Aerobiology Research Laboratories has attributed successful contracts with The Weather Network for producing a scientifically based predicting system using near real time data, a large database and weather parameters. We also work closely with Universities and Government agencies to provide information on aeroallergens and their health affects. We are becoming more involved in doing scientific presentations as well as producing scientific papers for publishing. Pharmaceutical companies also use our services when doing clinical trials and market studies. We are broadening our ability to make information available by providing reports to web sites and mobile services that give a historical image of aeroallergens on the current day.
The founders of this Company were also involved in the formation of the Pan-American Aerobiology Association in the late 1980's. Agriculture Canada assisted in the formation of this organization for the benefit of the field of Aerobiology. This is a national organization that is very successful in organizing conferences and is also affiliated with the International Aerobiology Association. The IAA is an international organization, which covers the world and keeps people of common interest and goals in touch with each other.
Aerobiology Research Laboratories is constantly involved in research and doing presentations at the American Association of Allergy Asthma and Immunology, the Canadian Society of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, the Pan-American Aerobiology Association as well as other conferences relating to air quality.
Our data is also being used to produce scientific papers relating asthma, allergies and hospital admissions to the concentration of allergens found in the air. Very informative scientific papers are being published in medical journals using our expertise and data (see references).
Company Policies
Our policy for training our Staff and their qualifications is what differentiates our Company from others in the same field. Our methodology is standardized; we perform quality control for accuracy. Any reports we produce are backed up by scientific methodology, near real time counts and actual historical data is used to predict certain pollen. Our training is done in-house and is extensive. All of our Employees have a University degree with emphasis on biology and computers. We do not contract out our counting services and this allows for quality assurance and high standards.
1- We only use University Graduates with Biology, Statistics and Computer backgrounds. After taking our in-house course, which takes several months to accomplish. After completion they are equipped with the skills necessary to analyze our samples. This training allows us to assure quality control and standardized methods of counting and reporting. We also use Professionals as consultants to assure the best quality of our work and to deal with any issues related to our field.
2- We do not sub-contract or use volunteers to do our counts. This, we feel, is what differentiates us from other companies or groups who are presently providing this kind of information.
3- We are highly computerized which means we can produce a good reliable product for a reasonable price. This also allows us to keep a large database where all of our information is scientifically analyzed for accuracy.
4- We are able to set up stations anywhere in the world where this kind of information is necessary.
5- We do not believe in reporting aeroallergen information for locations where we do not have a station. All data has to be backed up with near real time counts. The kind of general reporting that is happening presently without data is very misleading and inaccurate. In the field of providing information relating to people's health we feel it is important that it should be accurate and substantiated.
6- For quality assurance we are now producing our own collecting equipment. We have found great variance in quality of products on the market and are now using our own assembled equipment to assure the reliability of samples collected.
Company Procedures
Currently, in Canada, Aerobiology Research operates 31 monitoring stations that gather pollen and spore samples daily within a twenty-four hour collecting period. The innovative aeroallergen rotation impaction samplers, redesigned by Aerobiology Research, are strategically placed throughout Canada in dense and highly populated areas and/or in regions with differing biological diversity. This allows for more accurate counts/predictions for areas affecting the general populous. The samples are collected by associates who gather the collecting rods from the rotation impaction samplers every morning and ship them within a few hours of retrieval for analysis at Aerobiology Research Laboratories.
When the pollen samples are analyzed predictions are made (for 27 sites) through statistical analysis using variables such as weather data and historical data of pollen counts. The data for each predicted species is combined with the weather data for each city and subjected to several statistical analyses including linear regression, cluster analysis, multivariate analysis, and Neural Networks to identify relationships within the database and between the pollen counts and weather conditions. These variables and relationships were used to establish predictive models - a scientifically designed model to give meaningful information to allergy sufferers and Doctors. To establish and monitor the accuracy of pollen predictions the models are compared to actual pollen counts obtained from samples for the actual day using linear regression to determine which of the statistical models produced the most accurate predictions for each species.
Daily pollen counts (near real time counts) from pollen and spore data collected from rotation impaction samplers are then transferred to historical databases daily to make predictions effectively more accurate minimizing the variance of accuracy continuously. Evaluations and modifications of prediction models are performed daily as an ongoing operation of the laboratory.
Fungal spores are notably a major source of airborne allergens and we are getting more involved in making available this information through web sites and through broadcast by The Weather Network/MeteoMedia.
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Contact info@aerobiology.ca for more information