FAR UV - Human Safe Sterilization

The cleaner a facility, the less likely an employee or client will contract and/or succumb to an infection.  The ability to maintain a clean facility will be a function of the efficiency at preventing external pathogens from entering the premises. A common method of entry of infectious agents into workplaces is on clothing & accessories. Far-UV (222 nm) represents a significant  improvement to the disinfection processes that organizations such as hospitals have been attempting to implement when confronted by pathogens such as COVID – 19. Clinical tests have shown that Far-UV disinfection achieves 99.99% bacteria, virus and other pathogen kill on most surfaces in less than 4 seconds, which is 10x to 1000x better than existing treatments. Far-UV can be used to disinfect rooms on an almost continuous daily basis, even while people are present, since it is 100X less damaging than UV-C radiation to human eyes and skin.  

As of the end of May 2020, there have been almost 6 million cases of COVID-19 infections in more than 200 nations around the globe with more than 350,000 deaths. COVID-19 is spread by respiratory droplets. Coughing and sneezing by an infected individual in close proximity to another person are the most likely means of direct transmission. However, it is known that the virus is capable of surviving outside the human body on a variety of different surfaces, which can result in transmission if touched. Depending on the type of surface, experts estimate that the virus can survive for just a few hours or up to a few days. Metal and plastic can provide a haven for the virus for up to 2 to 3 days.  Individuals such as front-line workers taking care of, or frequently in close proximity to, those infected with COVID-19 are at high risk of carrying pathogens on their work clothing or accessories because of their possible repeated exposure to respiratory droplets from infected individuals.  

Because of this, here is presently an urgent need for a safe, efficient, quick, low cost & easily implemented sterilization technology that can dramatically reduce the spread of pathogens. 

Far-UV is a dry, chemical & mercury-free disinfection solution. Other UV light sources are dangerous to humans.  They use mercury lamps that are bio-toxic & exhibit long warm-up times. Far-UV lamps contain no mercury & use mixtures of safe, inert gasses & they are also instantly-on at full power (with no warm-up time). Because disinfection is carried out purely by energetic light photons, no chemicals or liquids are necessary, which makes for a safer and better experience for clients and employees. Another advantage is that Far-UV lamps are completely recyclable at the end of their long life.

UV-C lamps are severely impacted by moving air, particularly when temperatures are below 77°F (25°C) or above 100 °F, resulting in decreased output unless more lamps are added. In contrast, Far-UV lamps work just as well in cold or hot moving air.

Because they produce a much shorter wavelength (222 nm)  light from other commercially available UV sources, Far-UV does not penetrate the skin or the cornea of the eye. Research has shown that the Far UV band produces a wavelength that is greater than 10 times safer for eyes and skin than UV-C light (254 nm).  Potential applications are virtually unlimited.  

The target populations are front-line workers & support personnel in hospitals, clinics & medical offices, especially in the developing world, where it is not possible to change/sterilize clothing and/or equipment/accessories as often as necessary to maintain ideal sterile conditions. The proposed technology will greatly improve their lives by significantly reducing their risks for infection and the chances that they will infect others in their workplace and home environments.  

MIT Solve is seeking tech innovations that can slow the spread of the COVID-19 outbreak, for example, by improving individual hygiene and providing tools that support and protect front-line workers all over the globe. Solve is also seeking solutions that focus on preventative and mitigation measures that strengthen access to affordable primary healthcare systems, reduce the risk of pathogen transmission, and that reduce the costs of maintaining a viable health care system, especially in developing nations.  The Far UV technology achieves all of these goals in a highly cost-effective manner.    

While a number of researchers are working in this area, no systems exclusively using FAR UV (222 nm) technology have been fully commercialized as of May, 2020. What makes our application different is the incorporation of Far UV Lamps into a system that allows for the efficient disinfection of clothing, accessories & equipment with minimal disruptions while people are gaining access to, or leaving buildings or restricted areas.  Existing solutions that use UV-C lamps require that rooms undergoing sterilization be completely cleared of personnel for a significant period of time, interrupting the flow of work. Existing UV lamps cannot be used to sterilize clothing, accessories, or equipment that is being carried, or worn by people, since they would be harmed by exposure to the UV-C light. (254 nm). Our system offers capabilities that are offered by no other commercial light-based sterilization system in the world.  

UV light is highly effective at destroying pathogens because it breaks the molecular bonds that hold together the DNA of viruses, bacteria & fungi, including "superbugs," that have developed a strong resistance to antibiotics. The light initiates a reaction between two molecules of thymine, one of the bases that make up DNA. The resulting thymine dimer is very stable, but repair of this kind of DNA damage--usually by excising or removing the two bases and filling in the gaps with new nucleotides--is fairly efficient. Even so, it breaks down when the damage is extensive. A gene product, called p53, is one of the responsible parties for slowing the cell cycle and checking for damage. If the damage is fixable, p53 sends in the repair machinery. If the damage is too extensive, it directs the cell to apoptosis, or programmed cell death.

The use of UV sterilization, or ultraviolet germicidal irradiation, has been found to be extremely effective. Sources of UV sterilization can kill over 99% of viruses, bacteria, and fungi in an extremely short amount of time.

The major disadvantage of UV light as a disinfectant sterilant is that UV-C light can penetrate human tissues and can cause major skin & eye damage to humans. Far UV has a shorter wavelength than UV-C so a higher frequency & therefore a higher energy photon that can do more DNA damage to pathogens, but at the same time, it will not penetrate or damage human skin or eyes.  

The following references are available:

“Far-UV is superior to UVC in wound sterilization” - Tianhong Dai, Instructor at Harvard Medical School Greater Boston Area Hospital & Health Care

“Corneal Endothelial Safety in Far Ultraviolet Light (222nm) Antimicrobial Ophthalmic Care” - Dr. James Rowsey Ophthalmology, MD

Humans are highly motivated to adopt a technical change when the new technology is substantially better, more convenient, cheaper, more attractive etc. than the technology that it is replacing.  

Existing UV sterilization techniques require that buildings, rooms, clinics and facilities be completely emptied of personnel, plants and animals before they can be implemented.  This causes major inconvenience, interruption to work flow and loss of income generating potential during the time that the facilities are out of commission during the sterilization procedure.  

Far UV (222 nm) sterilization is more effective than UV-C (252 nm) at destroying pathogens, but at the same time, since it is harmless to humans, plants and animals, it does NOT require that buildings, rooms, clinics and facilities be completely emptied of personnel, plants and animals before it can be successfully implemented. 

To operate, Far UV only needs a power source, that can be solar/wind/small hydro powered, so it can be implemented anywhere, even in the most remote jungle/desert/arctic locations.  Other forms of sterilizations require the transport of large volumes of liquid agents & potentially toxic products that have to be shipped & stored on-site in large barrels.

As the better solution, Far UV will certainly have a significant positive impact on the problem of sterilization against pathogens such as COVID-19 and as the more convenient & cost-effective choice, it will strongly induce people to make the change to adopt the new technology.  

Number of people currently being served: 0

Reason: System has not yet been commercialized

Number of people that will be Protected in 1 year: 100,000

Reason: Systems will be installed in more than 100 hospitals, clinics, hospices etc. 

Number of people that will be Protected in 5 years: 10,000,000

Reason: Systems will be installed in more than 1,000 hospitals, clinics, hospices etc. 

The goal within the next year is to build an assembly line that will be capable of producing at least 2 (two) fully functional systems per working day so that we can get at least 500 systems into service by the end of the first year.  

Our goal within the next five years will be to get assembly lines set up in North America, South America, the EU, Africa and Asia so that we can get at least 10,000 systems installed & operational in at least 50 countries around the globe.  

Achieving these goals will allow us to positively impact the lives of at least 10 million front-line workers and support staff around the world.  

All of the technical barriers have been overcome and the only barriers that exist to allow full commercialization of this promising technology are financial.  

The Far-UV Lamps are still very expensive and so we are limited in how many prototypes that use these lamps that we can design, build & test.  

Mass production of the Far UV lamps and increased demand for the product will gradually bring down their cost.

Funding by MIT Solve will allow us to bring this technology to thousands of hospitals, clinics and hospices around the world. 

The COVID-19 crisis adversely impacted the finances of many potential investors who would have put money into the project, and we have been struggling for funds.  We overcame this barrier by using large numbers of volunteer professionals to conduct the R&D portion of the project. The volunteer professionals working on the project used their own money to bring this portion of the project to completion. The commercialization portion of the project will require funds to purchase equipment and to hire paid staff to bring the project to a successful & profitable conclusion.  

full-time staff = 0

part-time staff = 5

Our team includes epidemiologists, medical physicists, bio-medical engineers and marketing experts who have all of the knowledge, skills and experience to design, engineer, develop, test and commercialize this technology. 

Several of the team members have participated in a number of previous successful innovative technology start-ups and so they can help guide this venture to success, while avoiding the pitfalls that often plague technology start-ups that are lunched by less experienced individuals.  

We are currently partnered with the Yellow Cross, an non-profit organization that is working to establish a system of progressive standards for organizations that will allow them to reduce the risks that their employees and clients will be impacted by epidemics such as COVID-19.  They are planning to promote the Far UV technologies to its many hospital, clinical and organizational members.  (https://yellowcross.org/)

The business model is based on sales of the Far UV Sterilization Systems to hospitals, clinics, Doctor's Offices and any locations where groups & crowds congregate such as sports stadiums, movie theaters, art galleries etc. The systems can also be used by any organizations that wish to protect their employees and clients from infections by pathogens.  This can be accomplished by installing the Systems at all entrances, but can also used to sterilize all surfaces that regularly come in contact with humans such as toilet seats & flushing levers, water taps, equipment handles, door handles, chairs, table surfaces, eating areas and much more.  

The business model is also based on establishing and maintaining standards that allow organizations to create a healthy environments for their staff and clients. Organizations will pay for consulting services and for being certified at a particular level, be it Bronze, silver, gold and platinum.  Implementation of the Far UV Sterilization Technology will be an important component of establishing higher levels of certification.  

Seed funding from MIT Solve will be used to complete the initial prototypes and to set up the first system assembly line.  Money to continue the commercialization of the project will be raised by offering system pre-sales and obtaining deposits on Far UV Sterilization Systems from future clients and for payments to the company for consulting services offered to organizations that are seeking to get certification at a particular established level of performance.  

Because of the COVID-19 lock down, we have not been able to secure funding for our project. However, because of our use of volunteer professional labor, the R&D portion of our project has been successfully completed.  Our technology is now ready to commercialized. It is imperative that this technology be commercialized as soon as possible because it could protect hundreds of thousands of front-line workers from getting infected by COVID-19 now, and by other viral, bacterial and fungal pathogens in the future.  

American Medical Association (AMA), Centers for Disease Control (CDC), WHO.  

We offer a highly viable & clinically tested technology but because of circumstances, we have been able to raise the funds necessary to commercialize the technology.  Proper funding from the Elevate Prize will allow us to commercialize the technology very rapidly and to successfully market it all over the world.  It will also allow us to continue our R&D program so that we can continue to improve the technology so that it will be even more effective and versatile in the future.  

Our goal for Phase II of our technology development program will be to incorporate AI into the system to allow the Far UV intensity & exposure time of each clothing item, equipment and/or accessory to be optimized.  This will greatly increase the efficiency and effectiveness of the system. 

In many hospitals, clinics and health service centers, woman constitute by far the largest majority of the staff, so that they are consequently disproportionately impacted by infections such as COVID-19.  Consequently, the Far UV 222 nm sterilization technology will have a significant impact on protecting & improving the quality of life for millions of women & girls around the globe.  

Since they are often suffering from extremely crowded & unsanitary conditions within refugee camps around the world, refugees can be disproportionately impacted by infections such as COVID-19.  Consequently, the Far UV 222 nm sterilization technology will have a significant impact on protecting & improving the quality of life for millions of refugees around the globe.  

Our Far UV 222 nm technology can use solar PV generated electricity to generate the Far UV light that is used to sterilize surfaces, clothing and accessories. By using light instead of liquids, powders or other types of consumable materials, the result is a technology that offers a significantly lower environmental impacts than existing approaches to sterilization.  Also it offers greater human protection and sustainability than existing UV technologies.  The prize money will be used to increase the production rates of units from the assembly line so that more hospitals, clinics and Dr's Offices around the globe (especially in developing nations) can be supplied with Far UV Sterilization Units.