Boston University Medical School and LUV Systems, Inc. Execute Low-UVC/Covid-19 Research Contract

BOSTON, MA (18 August 2020) - Today, Boston University Medical School and LUV SYSTEMS, INC. signed a research contract for BU’s NEIDL biosafety laboratory to study inactivation of SARS-CoV-2 (Covid-19) via low-wavelength ultraviolet light (UVC), at five distinct wavelengths and on common surfaces such as upholstery, stainless steel, and granite.  Our research aims to further understand UVC inactivation of Covid-19 where present in public places - on surfaces and airborne.  LUV Systems has developed a proprietary dose translation algorithm to correlate surface viral inactivation to indoor air disinfection dose rates.

While prior research has demonstrated UVC inactivation of pathogens with 254 nm and 222 nm for Covid-19 in plastic lab ware (see Griffiths and Kitagawa), to date no one has studied Covid-19 UVC inactivation on real-world surfaces, or for other UVC wavelengths below 220 nm and 230-250 nm.  Mounting evidence suggests lower UVC wavelengths may not be harmful – studies with mice and in-vitro/in-vivo tissue samples have indicated no observable chronic effects at 207 nm and 222 nm.

LUV Systems' July 2020 media advisory describes patent applications that were filed for multiple claims including 6 novel inventions to use UVC to continuously disinfect air and surfaces, in the presence of people and without direct exposure:

• Indoors for restaurants, offices, schools, gyms, airplanes, trains, buses, and personal vehicles;
• Retail counters, seated theaters/arenas, ATMs/keypads, elevators, and gas pumps; and
• Personal use with hand-held devices and 3-D disinfection chambers.

Neeraj Chaudhary, Business Analyst at LUV Systems, states these inventions will quickly lead to “affordable consumer and commercial products to accelerate the safe reopening of economies, while providing necessary peace of mind as people return to a state of normal in homes, offices, schools, retail and entertainment establishments, and transportation systems.”

Ultraviolet disinfection technology has been used for over 100 years in many applications including hospitals, laboratories, and water treatment facilities.  LUV Systems’ products are designed with a 100x safety margin for acceptable exposures as established by the FCC for devices such as cell phones.

LUV Systems’ LUV™ product line includes personal and installed devices to disinfect surfaces and air while people are present and conducting their normal activities, without direct human exposure.  LUV™ air disinfection products are designed to clear indoor spaces in less than five minutes, which is 3X faster than the CDC’s published 15-minute guideline for indoor air.

LUV Systems products currently incorporate engineering controls such as motion sensors to automatically control and monitor device operation.  Future product releases are planned with body temperature, tilt, and distance sensors, plus algorithms including a mobile app.

LUV Systems inventions are designed in America and Sood states “the products can easily be 100% manufactured in the United States.  We continue to seek business and governmental partners to continue research and development, secure international patents, and establish a manufacturing and distribution pipeline.”