UVO3 scalable low-cost sanitizer

UVC light and Ozone portable device to disinfect objects of daily use or items in hospitals, institutions or homes

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Inspiration

After seeing effects of pandemics on health systems of EU countries we came to conclusion there is a need for simple, scalable and effective disinfection device. So we investigated susceptibility of COVID-19. Few fast to implement methodologies came up, being UV-C light and Ozone.

Papers & Articles

What it does

UVO3 disinfects objects by utilizing UV-C light (185-280 nm) and Ozone (O3).

How we built it

We've adhered to our three core design principles:

  • Simplicity
  • Sustainability
  • Human Context

Considering the urgency of problem we've brainstormed about feasibility in short term and how to get tangible results fast. That is why we excluded more complex approaches and shifted them for second phase.

  1. After conceiving initial idea we have performed basic tests and studied selected components.
  2. Autodesk Fusion 360 has been used to design the device and make models for CNC manufacturing.
  3. Afterwards we have proceeded with manufacturing necessary parts and ordering off-the-shelf parts.
  4. We consulted medical professionals in our network and are actively looking for a partner to perform lab level 3 testing ideally on Corona virus.

Challenges I ran into

Component sourcing is a problem due to postage delays. Finding affordable materials as well. Priority is to source all components locally in European Union.

Our Story & the problem

SARS-CoV-2 virus and the disease caused by it, known as Covid-19 it’s one of those challenges that humanity is currently facing - almost 3 millions of people infected, and more than 200 thousands people that have died in 4 months, millions if not billions of people in home isolation, markets stagnating, businesses struggling to survive, and people laid off from their jobs means that this situation is seriously bad, and is most likely to stay that way for a while... We as human beings need to stand up, make the right decisions by hart, not by money we have to take our fate into our own hands, at any costs

  • the sooner the better.

If the whole world was put to a pause for one month beginning February, it would cost some trillions, but now, it will be multiple times that amount, not counting the ruined lives. Or story started in early march when we wanted to import several automatic mask making machines from china, and give the produced masks for free to people in need, as the price for one mask with EU sourced materials would be 0.012cents, that is CHEAP …everything would have worked out, if the investor would not start playing dead bug, 2 weeks passed and due to high demand the raw materials available in EU, India Export ban, and Turkey’s production booked out for next 3 months, this idea has perished along with our dream for cheap EU made protective equipment. We had to think of something else what would help mitigate the spread and lower the impact this Virus has on peoples life's and the economy. "The problem?" we prefer to use the word "challenge" - our motto is, that anything can be solved with the right approach.

Challenge is, that too many infected people are around and there is a lack of protective equipment for medical staff – "the front line" the most important people that take care of everyone, that save lives! If those people get sick, who will care for the patients? Yes, if there would be enough adequate protective equipment, the situation would probably be a lot better, but there isn’t, so BrainWorx s.r.o. from Slovakia and ContentWise bvba from Belgium have joined forces during these dire times - due to shortages of protection gear and the insufficient sterilization options for gowns, mask, and respirators on the market, and designed an affordable (seriously affordable), and versatile sterilization device for personal or professional use, where almost any object(s) that fit’s inside the chamber can be fully sanitized within an one hour period.

It is possible to disinfect respirators, masks, gloves, and any other dry objects of daily use - such as shoes, leather jackets or other products, that you might have bought today in the grocery store - that cannot be sanitized or cleaned with conventional methods.

BrainWorx s.r.o. from Slovakia and ContentWise bvba from Belgium have joined forces during these dire times due to shortages of protection gear and the insufficient sterilization capabilities on the market, those have led us to develop an affordable (seriously affordable) sterilization device (https://contentwise.info/uvo3/) for personal or professional use where almost any object(s) that fit inside the chamber can be fully sanitized within an one hour period. Shortly written - recent findings and statistics suggest that SARS-CoV-2 spreads not only by inhaled air droplets but also by touching contaminated communal objects or packaging of products that have been previously touched by other person, or tiny droplets of mucus have landed on those surfaces, then you touch your eye or mouth, and you know the outcome in 2 weeks maybe! Since the virus may be present on any object or food packaging in large or small food stores, if there was only one infected person that coughs or sneezes - there is a lot biological material floating around and settling down on surfaces , later the people that buy these groceries or come with these items into contact, can get infected as well, by touching these surfaces or items... When you bring any items home from the store it is basically irrelevant whether you have washed your hands 10 times in between and after handling any products. Cross contamination has already happened, and you have the viral load on your fridge door, inside your fridge, on your kitchen counter, and handles that you have touched, several studies have been made to asses how long can the SARS-CoV-2 virus survive on materials, in some studies it has been shown the virus can survive at least 72 hours on plastic materials. Most of food packaging is plastic, so what now?

Some other studies have also revealed that more than a third of those infected has first suffered from stomach pain, vomiting, diarrhea or nausea, it is interesting that compared to the infected patients which have developed breathing problems, this other group reported also loss of taste and smell, this means that the central nervous system is affected as well, and the recovery took longer if not the opposite death .

But what should one do, to avoid cross-contamination from these surfaces if one does not want to disinfect every single item after coming home from the store and does not want to wait 3-4 days for the virus to die on its own? (assuming we would leave the shopping basket in "isolation" (apart bread and baked goods which are package free - you should re-bake these in the oven at 200 deg celsius for at least 3 minutes and put them into clean container or packaging to be safe.) Here is one option, and that is to use a special device that guarantees contactless disinfection of all dry objects that can fit up to a volume of about 70 liters. This device works on the technological principles that are already scientifically and practice proven. It is designed to destroy most of all existing pathogens, viruses, bacteria, fungi, etc. and at the same time it can do it in a very short time (1-2 hours) in the comfort of home. In this device it is possible to disinfect not only food but also other purchased items.

! Stay safe !

Accomplishments that I'm proud of

We've developed many succesful projects and to note few:

  • PrintRod robot - https://printrod.com
  • Tooly.Bot - https://tooly.bot
  • Computer Vision solutions for precise measurement and object recognition
  • inference of 3D coordinates fast moving objects based on 2 fisheye cameras
  • custom robot designs
  • robotic gripper

and many others

What I learned

to apply expertise from different domains in very fast tempo towards the real product. International collaboration requires rigorous planning.

What's next for UVO3 scalable low-cost sanitizer

In second phase we would extend the functionality of the device with faster Ozone degradation procedure.

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