Models for an Ultraviolet-C Research and Development Consortium

ABSTRACT

The development of an international, precompetitive, collaborative, ultraviolet (UV) research consortium is discussed as an opportunity to lay the groundwork for a new UV commercial industry and the supply chain to support this industry. History has demonstrated that consortia can offer promising approaches to solve many common, current industry challenges, such as the paucity of data regarding the doses of ultraviolet-C (UV-C, 200 nm to 280 nm) radiation necessary to achieve the desired reductions in healthcare pathogens and the ability of mobile disinfection devices to deliver adequate doses to the different types of surfaces in a whole-room environment. Standard methods for testing are only in the initial stages of development, making it difficult to choose a specific UV-C device for a healthcare application. Currently, the public interest in UV-C disinfection applications is elevated due to the spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the virus that causes the respiratory coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19). By channeling the expertise of different UV industry stakeholder sectors into a unified international consortium, innovation in UV measurements and data could be developed to support test methods and standards development for UV healthcare equipment. As discussed in this paper, several successful examples of consortia are applicable to the UV industry to help solve these types of common problems. It is anticipated that a consortium for the industry could lead to UV applications for disinfection becoming globally prolific and commonplace in residential, work, business, and school settings as well as in transportation (bus, rail, air, ship) environments. Aggressive elimination of infectious agents by UV-C technologies would also help to reduce the evolution of antibiotic-resistant bacteria.