The Research Record
All Ten Clinical Trials
Listed chronologically. Every trial independently conducted. Every trial showing positive results.
Austin Air's clinical trial history begins with one of the most credible institutions in American pediatric medicine. In 2001, Austin Air was selected by the American Academy of Pediatrics and Cincinnati Children's Hospital — the number one ranked children's hospital in the United States — to participate in a clinical trial measuring the effect of air purification on childhood asthma. Austin Air HealthMate purifiers were run in each child's bedroom overnight and in the main family room during the day. The trial ran for twelve months, tracking both asthma symptom severity and the frequency of emergency room visits.
Key Findings: Over the twelve-month study period, children's asthma symptoms showed measurable improvement and the number of emergency room visits was dramatically reduced. Published results confirmed in 2010.
In 2009, Johns Hopkins University Hospital approached Austin Air to measure how effectively the Austin Air Bedroom Machine could reduce indoor nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) levels in homes with gas stoves. NO₂ is a respiratory irritant particularly dangerous for people with COPD and asthma, capable of causing coughing, wheezing, and chest tightness. Participants were provided two Austin Air purifiers — one for the kitchen and one for the bedroom — the two rooms where gas stove emissions concentrate most heavily.
Key Findings: NO₂ levels dropped significantly and air quality improved markedly in homes running Austin Air purifiers. The Austin Air Bedroom Machine outperformed even range hood ventilation above the stove in reducing NO₂. The results were so favorable that Johns Hopkins requested Austin Air purifiers for three additional follow-up studies.
Johns Hopkins initiated a second study with Austin Air focusing on one of the most vulnerable populations in the indoor air quality space: pregnant women and women with very young children living in a home with a smoker. Secondhand smoke is among the most damaging indoor pollutants for developing infants and fetuses, primarily through fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and nicotine byproducts like cotinine. Two Austin Air Bedroom Machine purifiers were installed in each participating home and run continuously throughout the study period.
Key Findings: Austin Air purifiers were proven highly effective at removing PM2.5. Indoor PM2.5 was significantly reduced and salivary cotinine — a biomarker for nicotine exposure — was significantly decreased for non-smoking women. Following the study, 98% of participating women said they would recommend an Austin Air purifier to others seeking to improve indoor air quality.
In 2015, Austin Air partnered with the University of Washington's Department of Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences for the Home Air in Agriculture Pediatric Intervention (HAPI) study. The Yakima Valley faces severe indoor air pollution from intensive crop farming, dairy operations, and pesticide use. The study involved 71 families living near agricultural operations, all with asthmatic children ages 6 to 12. One group received an asthma education program alone; the other received the same education plus Austin Air purifiers placed in both the living room and the child's bedroom.
Key Findings: The education-only group saw a 15–17% reduction in PM2.5. The group with Austin Air purifiers saw a 65% reduction in children's bedroom PM2.5 and 48% in living areas. Children with purifiers were 66% less likely to have poor asthma control and 72% less likely to have unplanned clinic or hospital visits than those without air filtration.
In 2018, Austin Air partnered with Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering, the East Boston Social Centers, AIRInc, and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts to address elevated air pollution near Boston's Logan International Airport. The study, led by Dr. Scott P. Hersey, investigated whether running an Austin Air HealthMate could lower indoor pollution and reduce the cardiovascular effects of traffic-related air pollution (TRAP). Seventy-seven participants with no underlying health conditions were divided between rooms with active Austin Air purifiers and rooms with no filtration.
Key Findings: Rooms with Austin Air purifiers experienced a tenfold decrease in indoor pollution levels. Blood pressure remained meaningfully lower when air quality was improved. Researchers concluded that "use of HEPA filtration may be an effective intervention for reducing cardiovascular risk from exposure to TRAP (traffic-related air pollution)."
The CLEAN AIR Study — formally titled "Randomized Clinical Trial of Air Cleaners to Improve Indoor Air Quality and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Health" — is one of the most rigorous studies ever conducted on air purification and respiratory disease. Johns Hopkins researchers enrolled 116 former smokers with moderate-to-severe COPD, randomly assigning them either two active Austin Air HealthMate purifiers or two sham units, and followed them for six months. Primary outcomes were measured via the St. George's Respiratory Questionnaire (SGRQ), a validated clinical tool for assessing COPD symptom burden.
Key Findings: Participants using active Austin Air purifiers showed significant reductions in COPD symptom scores, lower rates of moderate exacerbations (incidence rate ratio 0.32 vs. sham group), and reduced rescue medication use (incidence rate ratio 0.54). The Johns Hopkins team stated this was "the first environmental intervention study conducted among former smokers with COPD showing potential health benefits of portable HEPA air cleaners."
Building on the success of its prior Austin Air studies, Johns Hopkins University initiated a study examining the effects of HEPA air filtration on airborne particulate exposure specifically in the environment of babies and very young children — among the most physiologically vulnerable populations to indoor air pollution. Infants and toddlers spend the majority of their time indoors, breathe at higher rates relative to body weight than adults, and have developing respiratory and neurological systems particularly sensitive to fine particulate matter and chemical pollutants. Austin Air purifiers are deployed in participating households as part of this ongoing investigation.
Status: Ongoing research partnership with Johns Hopkins University, extending one of the longest and most productive air purifier research collaborations in medical history. Results are anticipated for future publication.
The Home Air Filtration for Traffic-Related Air Pollution (HAFTRAP) study, led by Dr. Doug Brugge at the University of Connecticut's Department of Public Health Sciences, represents a landmark expansion of air purification research into cognitive and neurological health. Published in Scientific Reports (Nature) in April 2026, the study enrolled 119 participants living near high-traffic roadways and used a randomized crossover design — each participant used a HEPA Austin Air purifier for one month, a sham unit for one month, with a washout period in between. Cognitive function was assessed using the Trail Making Test (Parts A and B), a validated neuropsychological tool measuring mental speed, flexibility, and executive function. The manufacturer had no involvement in study design, data collection, or analysis.
Key Findings: Participants aged 40 and older — approximately 42% of the sample — completed the cognitive test an average of 12% faster after using the Austin Air HEPA purifier than after the sham unit (54.0 seconds vs. 61.4 seconds; p = 0.02). This improvement held after controlling for time spent indoors and test-related stress. Researchers noted this cognitive benefit is comparable in magnitude to the improvements associated with regular daily exercise. No significant effect was observed in participants under 40.
This trial, led by principal investigators Dr. Brent Stephens of Illinois Institute of Technology and Dr. Israel Rubinstein of the Jesse Brown Veterans Affairs Medical Center (JBVAMC) in Chicago, represents one of the most ambitious and socially important air purification studies yet undertaken. The study protocol was published in the journal Trials (BioMed Central) in June 2025. Participants are US military Veterans with moderate-to-severe COPD receiving care at JBVAMC — a population with an exceptionally high burden of respiratory disease, with the VA facility logging nearly 11,000 COPD clinic visits and 700 COPD-related ER visits in a single fiscal year at a cost exceeding $2.3 million. The study population is expected to be predominantly African American and largely from historically underserved, lower socioeconomic status Chicago neighborhoods — making this trial an important investigation into health equity alongside clinical outcomes.
Eighty participants are being enrolled and randomized to receive either a fully functioning Austin Air HEPA purifier (containing HEPA media, activated carbon, and zeolite) or a sham/placebo unit for one full year. Low-cost air quality sensors and plug-load data loggers monitor indoor particulate matter concentrations and purifier usage at high time resolution throughout the trial. A housing condition assessment is also conducted to identify structural and environmental factors that may influence COPD outcomes. At the conclusion of the trial, participants assigned to sham units are provided working purifiers, reflecting the ethical commitment of the research team.
Primary Outcome: Physician-diagnosed exacerbations of acute COPD over the full 12-month study period. Secondary Outcomes: Health-related quality of life (SGRQ-C and Veterans RAND 36 survey), emergency room visits, unscheduled medical visits, 6-minute walk distance, and oxygen saturation — assessed at baseline, midpoint, and endline. Results are expected to directly inform housing policy and medical practice guidelines for COPD management.
This substantial study, led by Dr. Susan R. Woskie and published in the peer-reviewed journal Toxics (MDPI) in November 2025, examined the effectiveness of Austin Air HEPA/carbon filter purifiers in reducing two of the most dangerous indoor pollutants — nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) and fine particulate matter (PM2.5) — in homes where gas stoves are a primary pollution source. Sixty-seven low-income households in Lowell, Massachusetts participated over a twelve-month period, making this one of the largest and longest community-based air purifier studies yet conducted with Austin Air products.
The study used a pre- to post-test design with home visits every four months. During the first four months, baseline environmental measurements were collected — indoor NO₂, PM2.5, stove usage, temperature, and humidity — over 5 to 7 days per visit. Air purifiers were then introduced at the four-month mark, with continued monitoring through the full twelve months. Linear mixed models were used to isolate the effect of purifier use on pollutant levels, controlling for gas stove usage patterns and other household variables. Gas stoves are a well-documented source of NO₂ indoors, and low-income households are disproportionately exposed due to older appliances, limited ventilation, and higher time spent at home — making this population both high-risk and historically underserved by air quality interventions.
Key Findings: The introduction of Austin Air HEPA/carbon purifiers produced statistically significant reductions in both target pollutants. Indoor NO₂ geometric mean dropped 36% — from 20.16 ppb to 12.79 ppb (p < 0.001). Indoor PM2.5 geometric mean dropped 45% — from 17.12 µg/m³ to 9.16 µg/m³ (p < 0.001). Increased purifier use correlated directly with greater pollutant reductions, while increased stove use drove NO₂ back up — confirming the purifier as the key intervention variable. Researchers concluded that HEPA/carbon filters have strong potential to improve indoor air quality and can be tailored to address specific pollution sources like gas stoves in low-income households.
