LUCIA : An open source device for disinfection of N95 masks using UV-C radiation

© 2021 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).Faced with a global pandemic such as the one triggered by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, the medical supply chain has been highly demanded. An item in which this manifested itself more clearly, are the N95 masks, designed to be disposable items, in many cases they have had to be reused. In these emergency conditions, it was necessary to apply an effective and safe method that can be used locally. Here a device for disinfection by ultraviolet C light was developed that allows irradiating N95 masks with a known and reproducible dose. Thus being able to apply a safe and effective disinfection method according to existing information. The use of a common model of UV-C lamps and the simple construction of the device allows it to be built at low cost and with widely available materials. The effectiveness of the device was demonstrated against an enveloped RNA virus, characteristics shared with the virus that causes COVID19, being capable of reducing the viral load by 4 orders of magnitude

Programmable and low-cost ultraviolet room disinfection device

Here is presented a room disinfection device based in Ultraviolet-C radiation. Initially, it was designed for the periodic conditioning of culture rooms. It offers the capacity to be remotely programmed using an Android mobile device and it has an infrared detection security system that turns off the system when triggered. The system here described is easily scalable to generate higher ultraviolet dosages adding more UV-C lamps. The experimental tests showed the very high effectiveness of this device to eliminate high bacterial inocula. The sanitizing method employed by this device affects a very wide range of microorganisms and it has several advantages respect to chemical based-sanitizing methods. The total cost to make this open source device is below USD 180 and it is easily customizable which is different respect to proprietary commercial devices actually available. This device represents an open source, secure, fast and automatized equipment for room disinfecting. The device is configured in less than three minutes and it does not require continuous monitoring. Keywords: Disinfecting, Ultraviolet, Sterilize