UV-C tower for point-of-care decontamination of filtering facepiece respirators.
Am J Infect Control
; 49(4): 424-429, 2021 04.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-917197
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
Filtering facepiece respirators (FFR) are critical for protecting essential personnel and limiting the spread of disease. Due to the current COVID-19 pandemic, FFR supplies are dwindling in many health systems, necessitating re-use of potentially contaminated FFR. Multiple decontamination solutions have been developed to meet this pressing need, including systems designed for bulk decontamination of FFR using vaporous hydrogen peroxide or ultraviolet-C (UV-C) radiation. However, the large scale on which these devices operate may not be logistically practical for small or rural health care settings or for ad hoc use at points-of-care.METHODS:
Here, we present the Synchronous UV Decontamination System, a novel device for rapidly deployable, point-of-care decontamination using UV-C germicidal irradiation. We designed a compact, easy-to-use device capable of delivering over 2 J cm2 of UV-C radiation in one minute.RESULTS:
We experimentally tested Synchronous UV Decontamination System' microbicidal capacity and found that it eliminates near all virus from the surface of tested FFRs, with less efficacy against pathogens embedded in the inner layers of the masks.CONCLUSIONS:
This short decontamination time should enable care-providers to incorporate decontamination of FFR into a normal donning and doffing routine following patient encounters.Keywords
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Respiratory Protective Devices
/
Ultraviolet Rays
/
Decontamination
/
Point-of-Care Systems
/
SARS-CoV-2
/
COVID-19
Limits:
Humans
Language:
English
Journal:
Am J Infect Control
Year:
2021
Document Type:
Article
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