the halō by LUV Systems, Inc.

LUV Systems is committed to solving the problem of respiratory infection transmission between people indoors.  Our solution, the halō, is designed with optimal airflow and effective low-UVC germicidal disinfection of the air.

the halō operates to control the breathing zone in a room to remove potentially infectious air, disinfect the air, and return treated air to the room where people breathe.

the halō can be installed in any indoor space where respiratory infection is a concern, and broad-scale use could prevent future epidemics, pandemics, and flu season on a global scale.

the halō is the only solution that meets and exceeds the CDC’s 15-minute exposure guideline.

The risk of respiratory disease transmission is well-recognized – death, illness, and economic disruption due to the COVID-19 pandemic have profoundly impacted societies globally.  To date, over 175 million people have been infected with almost 4 million deaths in just under 18 months.

The World Health Organization  and other health agencies also recognized that most transmissions of COVID-19 and flu-like pathogens occur indoors via the inhalation pathway from breathing infectious air.  This is an indoor air quality problem.

Our primary motivation with the halō is to reduce the airborne infection risk indoors.  the halō is designed to safely remove potentially infectious air from a room’s breathing zone as quickly and efficiently as possible, with effective treatment of the air using established germicidal low-UVC light energy.

the halō uses a reverse-flow ceiling fan and 254 nm low-UVC lights, optimized for safe and effective airflow and disinfection:

• Airflow - the most important indoor air quality challenge is removal of potentially infectious air from the breathing zone.  the halō is mounted in the center of a room at typical ceiling height, and utilizes a reverse-flow ceiling fan to gently yet quickly remove breathing zone air (in the “cone of influence,” a region where airflow towards the halō center  is at least 0.5 ft/sec).
• Disinfection - the air is directed into the disinfecting halō light ring, which consists of 254 nm low-UVC lights in a customized aerodynamic cowling system.  The orientation and intensity of the lights is optimized for effective disinfection based on our COVID-19 exposure trials at Boston University Medical School.

the halō’s is comprised of standard technology such as ceiling fans, low-UVC lightings, and miscellaneous electronic products.

Our unique design relies on proprietary dose and airflow design algorithms, including optimal breathing zone cone of influence and a patent-pending cowling system to minimize mixing of treated and untreated air.

For personal health and well-being, as well as the daily needs of commerce, it is critical for people to meet and interact in person.  Our solution, the halō, is inspired by the urgent need for us all to resume a sense of security and normalcy in our lives.

the halō serves any person, family business, school, or other organization that has concern regarding indoor respiratory contagion, anywhere in the world.  Any facility that uses the halō will have a substantially mitigated risk for indoor respiratory contagion, thereby keeping employees, guests, and all people safer.

Underserved communities are often the hardest hit during contagious outbreaks – and with less means to protect themselves.  the halō is an affirmative mitigation effort that can be taken for such communities, such as schools near freeways that cannot open their windows due to atmospheric air pollution.

We are in discussions with the Los Angeles Unified School District and other local school districts, and have developed a 90-day no charge demonstration program targeted at schools in underserved and disadvantaged communities.

In addition, the halō is perfect to reduce respiratory infections at homeless shelters, nursing and care homes, and public hospital/health care waiting areas.

The website for this Solve “Health Security & Pandemics Challenge” opens with a question:  “How can communities prepare for, detect, and respond to emerging pandemics and health security threats?”

the halō is the most effective way for all communities to prepare for emerging pandemics and health security threats.  Therefore, our problem addressed, solution, and target population are perfectly aligned with the mission of the Challenge.

We selected the “Other” Challenge dimension because the halō fits with the overall mission of the Challenge yet is not properly encapsulated in the preceding specific options.

The halō prototype has been designed and tested by retained third-parties, and we are currently in our first limited production run.

COVID-19 efficacy testing (UK variant) has been completed by Boston University Medical School, safety/spectroscopy testing has been completed by Earthineering, Inc., and aerospace validation engineers have tested airflow.

At present we are in talks with various potential demonstration sites, including the Los Angeles Unified School District, and will have the first products for installation during Fall 2021.

There are numerous products in the marketplace for indoor air disinfection.  the halō is the only product that offers effective air flow, disinfection, and separation of treated and untreated air – all  to clear potentially infectious air from the breathing zone in seconds, and to prevent accumulation of an infectious pathogen level in the air.

Two very specific novel innovations form the basis for  the halō – a ceiling fan spinning in reverse to create a cone of influence for air uptake in the breathing zone, and a ring of low-UVC disinfecting lights around the fan to provide uniform disinfection to all the air from the fan.  No other system has either of these embodiments, anywhere in the world.

Because we have focused on the generation, transport, and fate of respiratory pathogens, ours is the only design that specifically addresses the breathing zone, where respiratory transmission occurs.

As we are just launching our inaugural production run, we anticipate our solution will garner attention from media, as well as scientific and academic communities.  Our outreach includes these groups as well as target market sectors including schools, health care facilities, elderly care homes, and other sites where vulnerable populations may be at risk for respiratory infection.

At present we have one unit installed in our office, so the current number of people served is ~10 considering our team and regular visitors.

A year from now, we expect to have ~100 installations which may each serve 30 people on a daily basis – so in one year we expect ot be serving 3,000+ people.

Five years from now, when there are multiple models of the halō, we anticipate tens of thousands of installations, so we expect to serve a million or more people in five years.

The fundamental, broad metric for impact is ultimately a reduction in respiratory infections.  This can be measured in various ways:

• Less sick days and increased productivity for facilities that install the halō
• Reduced health care costs
• Customer satisfaction, including the patrons of our customers

Once the halō is deployed at customer sites, these and other data will be tabulated and analyzed to document our progress towards the ultimate goal to reduce respiratory infections.

Our team includes approximately 30 people working in various capacities.

Our co-founder partners are experienced professionals in electrical engineering, chemical engineering, finance, intellectual property, and business management.  This core group has the expertise and professional network needed to execute our project and business plans, acquire necessary resources as needed, and oversee implementation.

Our customers are typically business owners and facilities managers, and our team’s experience and familiarity with our customers’ needs has been a critical benefit of our collective professional experience.

LUV Systems is a minority- and women-owned small business, although we have not yet filed for these designations from any governmental entity.

In addition to the diversity of our leadership team, our resources including contractors and part-time staff have diverse backgrounds and experiences.

Our approach is simple – we want the best resources for the job, and we believe diversity in our resources is critical to bringing the best ideas and solutions to the table.

The MIT Solve Challenge is a prestigious competition that brings recognition and opportunities to participants.  While prize money and the potential for financing are important benefits, we are also looking for partners that can assist with marketing and distribution, to get as many halō’s deployed as quickly as possible.

In addition, we have developed a rigorous infectious dose calculation model to determine the amount of time before an infection dose may accumulated for any indoor space.  The model allows entry of various site-specific parameters and provides an output in minutes that can be compared between disinfection strategies and the CDC’s 15-minute guidance.

For this model, we are actively seeking an academic partner to critique our methodology and possibly be a co-author for our upcoming white paper on the subject.

As mentioned above, marketing and distribution channels would be great accelarators for us to deploy the halō more quickly and broadly.

We are well-covered in the other areas as necessary.

At present we do not have any such specific partners in mind.