UltraClean KillBox™

Coronavirus is disrupting life and critical operations across our society, economy, government, and military operations by threatening the safety of civilian, medical, and government personnel. Critical safety materials such as personal protective equipment (PPE) are in short supply forcing re-use and everyday objects like mobile phones, keys, eyeglasses, and office supplies have become transmission vectors. Light in the ultraviolet-C wavelengths has been proven to eliminate bacteria and viruses on surfaces. The UltraClean KillBox™ is a low-cost, simple device specifically designed to maximize UV-C light energy on objects placed inside by reflecting and guiding the photons around 360 degrees to effectively saturate all surfaces, achieving 99.9% sterilization in minutes. Deployed globally across consumer, medical, and business locations it would dramatically reduce transmission of bacteria and viruses that kill millions every year.

COVID-19 is a novel viral variant that emerged in late 2019 and quickly circled the globe. Primary transmission vectors are the direct inhalation of droplets from an infected person and the object-based transfer of droplets via contact.  Social distancing can mitigate the basic reproduction rate (R0) of a contagion at the expense of severe operational disruption making it unviable for frontline medical, military, essential service or other personnel who must perform duties during this pandemic. The poor supply chain, compounded by the accelerated use of PPE, drives shortages and significant costs which threatens the safety of the workforce and the community.

Data from the New England Journal of Medicine and The Lancet Microbe shows that COVID-19 can survive on PPE for 7 days or more and the re-use of masks without cleaning, in particular, have led to clusters infections of nurses and physicians as the repeated handling of masks with COVID-19 droplets produced contact-based transmission of the virus throughout the environment.

This same contact-based transmission is happening in businesses, nursing home, schools, and homes across a wide variety of objects (including pens, pencils, car keys, mobile phones, electronic tablets, eyeglasses, keyboards, mice, cash, credit cards, ID cards, etc.).

The UltraClean KillBox™ is a device that utilizes ultraviolet-C light energy to disinfect and sterilize a variety of objects in the field.  It is simple to use, cost efficient, and leverages proven commercial technologies to achieve 99.9% efficacy against coronavirus and other bacterial or viral contagions. It utilizes new UV-C LEDs instead of lamp-based emitters that contain mercury, have a lower lifespan, and are made from extremely fragile glass. It also uses advanced, three-dimensional reflector designs that boost the light energy and further directs it around the objects. The designs are derived from complex light path simulations developed for television backlight solution

The low-cost, simple and compact design facilitates location at actual points of need creating a distributed, redundant solution where it is needed most.

The KillBox is being developed to address the consumer, small business, retail, education, and medical markets.  We envision a KillBox in every kitchen, employee break room, visitor center, reception area, back office, classroom, doctor’s office, nursing home, hospital, government office, military location, TSA checkpoint, and more.

The design is based on feedback from consumers and the medical community as they battle COVID-19 and attempt to return to a normal pace of life as restrictions are lifted.  KillBox can reduce the risk of infection by simply and quickly disinfected everything from the groceries and mail to remote controls and mobile phones. This will directly reduce the basic reproduction rate of any bacteria or virus to improve the health and safety of the user.

The KillBox is a powerful tool to reduce the reproduction and spread of major contagions that can result in a pandemic.  The light from ultraviolet-C LEDs has been proven effective against Coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2), SARS, MERS, H1N1, Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus Aureus, Pseudomonas Aeruginosa, Klebsiella Pneumoniae, and Salmonella Typhimurium. Harnessing that power in a simple, low-cost device will enable widespread adoption and significantly hamper the ability of a contagion to spread.