MIT Solve

Solution Overview

Solution Name:

Indoor Sensing Germicidal Far-UV Light

One-line solution summary:

Indoor Infrared & Radar Augmented Far-UV Lighting for Real Time, Data Driven, Human Safe Air & Surface Disinfection

Pitch your solution.

COVID, TB, influenza and other infectious diseases spread via air and surfaces. In our digital age, there's paradoxically a paucity of real time granular data and interventions in indoor spaces.

Our solution 222nm skin safe far-UV germicidal lamp equipped with a fan, microwave radar and/or infrared camera plus humidity and air flow sensors. It combines environmental health surveillance with intervention. It measures indoor occupancy, human movement, body temperatures as well as microenvironmental data including air flow, air temperature and humidity. We can temporally & spatially quantify air & surface contamination risk. Armed with real time data, each lamp can respond immediately by activating far-UV irradiation and circulating sterilized air, stopping transmission right at the source.

Our solution monitors and mitigates airborne and fomite transmission of pathogens, potentially reducing morbidity and mortality from COVID, TB, influenza, bacterial pneumonias and other infectious diseases worldwide.

Film your elevator pitch.

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What specific problem are you solving?

Global infectious diseases including COVID-19, TB, influenza and MRSA spread via contaminated air and surfaces. Yet age old mitigation measures like social distancing, ventilation and surface cleaning have proven sadly inadequate in this pandemic. In our digital age, there's paradoxically a paucity of real time data and data driven interventions in indoor spaces. Our solution not only gathers highly granular indoor behavioral data via indoor radar and/or body temperature data with infrared camera but more importantly responds with human safe far-UVC germicidal lighting to stop transmission right at the source.

What is your solution?

Our solution is a 222nm skin safe far-UV germicidal lamp equipped with a fan, microwave radar and/or infrared camera plus humidity and air flow sensors. It combines environmental health surveillance with intervention. It measures indoor occupancy, human movement, body temperatures as well as microenvironmental data including air flow, air temperature and humidity. We can temporally & spatially quantify air & surface contamination risk. Armed with real time data, each lamp intervenes by activating far-UV irradiation and circulating sterilized air, stopping transmission at the source.

Regarding sensing, we can augment with local epidemiological data, space usage data, and building informatics optimize irradiation. In turn our data help HVAC controls to optimize air flow, trigger building managers to spread out room usage, inform health authorities transmission risk at a facility, augment indoor contact tracing...

Regarding intervention, research suggests 222nm far-UV is blocked by the skin's stratum corneum and the eyes' teary layer. It can safely operate in occupied spaces, unlike conventional 254nm UVC. An optimal control algorithm which considers human proximity plus estimated contamination from human activity. An attached fan distributes sterilized air and evens far-UV dosing.

System is scalable, functioning with 1 lamp at small clinic or hundreds at an airport.

Who does your solution serve, and in what ways will the solution impact their lives?

Our solution applies to anyone in indoor spaces (especially close quarters) by directly mitigating airborne and fomite transmission of illnesses. Our solution monitors and mitigates airborne and fomite transmission of pathogens, potentially reducing morbidity and mortality from COVID, TB, influenza, bacterial pneumonias and other infectious diseases worldwide.

Which dimension of the Challenge does your solution most closely address?

Strengthen disease surveillance, early warning predictive systems, and other data systems to detect, slow, or halt future disease outbreaks.

Explain how the problem you are addressing, the solution you have designed, and the population you are serving align with the Challenge.

We align with disease surveillance and outbreak response goals by directly mitigating airborne and fomite transmission of illnesses via data driven ventilation & far-UVC germicidal irradiation.

In what city, town, or region is your solution team headquartered?

Indianapolis, IN, USA

What is your solution’s stage of development?

Prototype: A venture or organization building and testing its product, service, or business model.

Explain why you selected this stage of development for your solution.

Our technology stack consists of far-UV lighting, indoor radar and/or infrared camera, and data driven optimal control software. We're already making and distributing far-UV lamps. However we're still integrating indoor radar, infrared camera, additional sensors and IOT networking onto the lamp as well as developing risk estimation and optimal control algorithms. We expect to pilot the data empowered version in Q3 2021. So overall the current stage is prototype.

Who is the Team Lead for your solution?

Paul Shen