Pollen Allergy Research Facility
The OHIO Chamber Pollen Allergy Research Facility
To Improve Treatments for Pollen Allergy Patients
Currently, nearly 20% of Japanese people suffer from pollen allergies, with an increasing number of patients each year.
The decreasing age of onset and significant economic losses due to reduced productivity during allergy season have become issues.
For this reason, not only pollen allergy medications but also products to counter pollen allergies and hygienic materials that improve patient QOL have gained attention.
However, conducting clinical trials for pollen allergy pharmaceuticals and functional assessments for pollen countermeasure products has been challenging due to the limited season and weather conditions, making it difficult to achieve reproducible results under consistent conditions.
That is why the Tokyo Research Center of Clinical Pharmacology has established the state-of-the-art pollen allergy research facility, the OHIO Chamber, within the Samoncho Clinic in Tokyo.
The OHIO Chamber is a facility possessing the highest level of performance in the world, where pollen from cedar and cypress trees can be uniformly dispersed indoors, allowing for objective testing of the efficacy and safety of pharmaceuticals and food products for pollen allergies as well as functional assessments of pollen allergy masks, air purifiers, and vacuum cleaners, regardless of weather or season, all while monitoring uniformity of pollen concentration.
Such facilities had been established in seven overseas locations, including Austria (Vienna), Germany (Hanover), and Canada (Ontario), as of 2005. In Japan, such facilities were established in Wakayama and Osaka and subsequently in Chiba in 2008. They are internationally referred to as Environmental Exposure Units (EEUs) or Allergen Challenge Chambers (ACCs), and the type of antigen, method of supply, and size of the chamber vary by facility.
Purpose of Establishment & Use
Allows for Efficient Collection of Clinical Trial Data
At first, the OHIO Chamber's antigen supply system dilutes cedar pollen with compressed air (first dilution) and then supplies it from a supply device located at the center of the testing room toward the ceiling.
Next, a secondary dilution is performed using the air conditioning systems installed on the ceiling and at four locations within the room, replicating natural diffusion conditions.
The chamber maintains world-class uniformity in pollen concentration distribution, with a spatial uniformity of ±12%.
The monitoring system for pollen concentration uses a laser-type measuring instrument capable of detecting particles with a diameter of 10 μm or more, allowing for measurement of pollen other than cedar as well. Clinical trial data collection can be conducted efficiently for pharmaceuticals, especially in the field of allergic conditions.
This facility can also accommodate data collection for a wide range of products, including food for specified health uses, supplements, health products, medical devices, hygienic materials, fine fibers, filters, air purifiers, and more with its pollen spray.
The current antigens supplied to the chamber are cedar and cypress pollen.
We hope that, by establishing the OHIO Chamber, we can help advance research and improve the diagnosis and treatment of cedar pollen and other allergies and help create countermeasures against increasing allergic conditions.
The OHIO Chamber: A Facility With World-Class Performance
The Tokyo Research Center of Clinical Pharmacology formed an Advisory Board led by Professor Kimihiro Okubo, Associate Professor (now Professor) at Nippon Medical School Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Professor Kazuhiro Hashiguchi, Chief of the Otorhinolaryngology Department at Kitasato Institute Hospital (currently Director of the Futaba Clinic), the late Professor Takeru Ishikawa, Professor Emeritus at Kumamoto University, and Professor Minoru Okuda, Professor Emeritus at Nippon Medical School, to receive advice on the establishment of this research facility for pollen allergy survey.
Features and Functions of the OHIO Chamber
Key Features of the World-Class OHIO Chamber
It replicates natural diffusion conditions to maintain uniform pollen concentration.
It accurately monitors pollen concentration with a laser-type measuring instrument.
It utilizes an automatic cleaning with purified water and an automatic drying system to prevent mold outbreaks and maintain clean conditions for conducting trials.
It has two air showers to prevent pollen from being carried outside the chamber and also prevent foreign matter from entering the chamber, allowing trials to be conducted under clean conditions.
With approximately 25 square meters of space, the chamber can accommodate up to 15 subjects at a time.
Subjects undergo trials in a relaxed atmosphere while watching TV inside the chamber.
In consideration of subject safety, emergency doors and an alarm for pollen supply limit have been installed.
With the features listed above, the OHIO Chamber was developed at the Central Research Institute of SHINRYO CORPORATION (Location: Shinjuku Ward, Tokyo) in Tsukuba and holds patents for the following element technologies.
- ANTIGEN EXPOSURE ROOM SYSTEM(P4796584)
- ANTIGEN SUPPLY UNIT(P4750797)
- ANTIGEN EXPOSURE CHAMBER AND METHOD OF WASHING/DRYING THE SAME(P4750798)