Room dividers made of UV-C light remove SARS-CoV-2 viruses from aerosols
Despite all the precautionary measures, aerosols contaminated with viruses are still an important problem indoors. An invisible protective wall made of UV-C light developed by researchers from the Tropical Institute at the LMU Klinikum and the Technical University of Munich (TUM) could help here and prevent the spread of Reliably contain viruses and other pathogens in rooms without restricting the freedom of movement of people in the room.
A research team from the Tropical Institute at the LMU Klinikum Munich and the Technical University of Munich, in cooperation with the start-up Smart United GmbH, has developed an invisible "protective wall" made of UV-C light.
In their study, published as a preprint on medRxiv, they were able to show that the UV light barrier they developed prevents the spread of pathogens via the air in indoor areas by killing the pathogens traveling along on the aerosol particles.
The protection rate was checked using model organisms. These included E. coli, S. aureus and a coronavirus. At air speeds of 10 cm / s, inactivation rates of over 99 percent are achieved.
Double protection system eliminates over 99 percent of pathogens
“Our system can be hung from the ceiling like a lamp to separate rooms. The UV-C light is bundled and radiated downwards. As with a protective curtain, pathogens are inactivated as soon as they “float through” on aerosol particles, explains PD Dr. med. Andreas Wieser, specialist in microbiology, virology and infection epidemiology at the Tropical Institute of the LMU Klinikum.
Professor Christoph Haisch from the Chair of Analytical Chemistry and Water Chemistry at the Technical University of Munich adds: “In addition, the system disinfects the breathing air in the room with its patented protective mechanism by sucking it in and slowly blowing it into the light area of the UV-C light wall. In addition to the direct barrier effect of the light wall, this prevents an accumulation of infectious aerosols in the room. "
Safe virus spread protection for small and large areas
A health hazard from the system's UV-C light is avoided by using special shut-off devices. As soon as an object or part of the body comes into the radiation area, the area is automatically switched off. This also happens when you want to go through; so you can move completely freely in the room.
Thanks to innovative special optics, the applicable requirements of occupational safety and the strict exposure limit values for UV radiation as well as other legal requirements can be complied with. In addition, ozone generation is avoided by the innovative LED light source and the special optics.
The UV-C virus protection wall can be used as an invisible room divider and subdivide larger rooms into smaller “virtual” rooms, which are so isolated from the air. It can thus become an important part of an aerosol hygiene concept for rooms and buildings.
"We are currently doing everything we can to make our virus protection walls available to the market as quickly as possible," says Reiner Prohaska, managing director of cooperation partner Smart United. “In parallel to the scientific validation of the system, we have already started to prepare production with well-known suppliers from the automotive industry. From the beginning of January we will start planning the rooms with our first customers. From the beginning of April we will be delivering the first UV-C light virus protection walls – with the aim of giving people back a piece of normalcy. "