By Eddie Fatakhov M.D., M.B.A.
While the United States experienced the H1N1 Swine Flu pandemic in 2009, the toll it took on everyday life was not as severe as what has been occurring with COVID-19. Quarantines were not enforced; social distancing was not stressed, and the normal functioning of families was not as severe. COVID-19 has proven to be highly contagious and the only current solution to limit spreading is to stay home until we can flatten the curve in the U.S. The stress, anxiety and fear over the future has become remarkable to the public and healthcare professionals as a whole.
It is well known that conventional germicidal ultraviolet (UV) light that is used in hospital systems reduces the person-to-person transmission of viruses through the air. It does this by using the power of light to kill viruses and bacteria on equipment and in the air. Unfortunately, conventional germicidal UV light is a safety hazard, with the ability to cause skin irritation, skin cancer and cataracts as well as other eye problems for prolonged exposure… until now.
A company by the name of Far-UV Sterilray, based in New Hampshire, has dedicated their life’s work to researching and making this new technology for the better part of the last two decades.
The patent-holder, inventor, physicist Edward Neister, has developed a particular type of UV light known as “Excimer Wave Sterilray™” light, with a wavelength at 222 nm (nanometers). Far-UV light has a very short range in biological material, rendering it unable to penetrate the dead-cell layer that is at the surface of our skin. It is also unable to penetrate the human eye, meaning, it can’t reach or damage any living cells in our body. All good news, but the even better news is it can still penetrate and kill viruses floating in the air, on surfaces, in liquids etc., including COVID-19 in one tenth of one second!
Researchers at Columbia University have used 222nm lamps technology to prevent the airborne transmission of viruses like the influenza virus. This gives us reason to expect it would be effective for the COVID-19 coronavirus too. The idea is to use the power of light to fight the massive spreading of this pandemic.
COVID-19 has the tremendous ability to spread through respiratory droplets in the air, but also the ability to live on surfaces for long periods of time. This makes everyday activities such as riding public transport, a huge breeding ground for the virus. If Excimer Wave Sterilray light can kill this virus in less than a second, without injuring human tissue, it could be a major game-changer in terms of getting people back to their everyday life with less risk of continuing the viral spread.
Boeing has been developing the light for multiple years for use in their no-touch bathrooms and Disney recently implemented the use of the Excimer Wave Sterilray light to disinfect their cameras and electronic equipment. Implementing the use of this technology in highly populated public areas may be a key component to limiting further spread of COVID-19, perhaps even eradicating it altogether.
Eddie Fatakhov, M.D is a Board-Certified Physician, Nutritionist and Best-Selling Author who has been a featured expert interview guest on national television programs including CNN, with commentaries featured regularly in U.S. News & World Report and other publications.
