By providing expertise and equipment to a group of researchers of the Royal Netherlands Aerospace Centre (NLR) and the Dutch National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM), Medspray has contributed to COVID-19 research on the spreading of aerosols in airplanes. The results of the research have now been made available to the Dutch government.
A hot topic in times of the pandemic, the spread of aerosols during airplane travel was one of the key research subjects for NLR and RIVM. How do aerosols behave during cruise flight and taxi? And what are the risks of spreading and infection?
Using aerosol devices, in-house and in-flight measure tools, Medspray assisted in the investigation of the behavior of aerosols. As daily air travel continues to rise now COVID-19 restrictions in many countries are relaxed or even lifted, one might assume that the risks of spreading COVID-19 will increase again, too. This one-of-a-kind research aimed to discover the true risks of infection during flights.
With Medspray’s unique spray technology, based on the Rayleigh principle, we can mimic the tiny drops that humans emit while speaking and breathing, the so-called aerosol droplets. This allows researchers to investigate how long droplets remain in the air within certain environments, and in this case, inside of an airplane cabin.
Results presented to Dutch government
The in-flight measurements allowed NLR and RIVM to validate their models and to calculate the potential risk of an infection during a flight. They have furthermore studied the influence of various parameters on aerosol transmission and subsequent risk of illness. NLR and RIVM published their findings in a report and shared this with the Dutch government (see this link), to provide insights into the potential risks associated with COVID-19 infections during flights.
Conclusion report
The risk associated with infection during flights are low. The chance of being infected with COVID-19 during the flight lies between 1:1800 and 1:120, depending on duration of the flight. You can read more about the findings of NLR and RIVM research here.
Going forward, Medspray will continue to support research groups and organizations in the search for countermeasures against the spread of COVID-19 and other potential diseases.
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