COVID-19: IIT Guwahati develops device to disinfect homes using UVC LED technology

The Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati has created a device with UVC LED technology to disinfect homes, hospitals, and other bigger spaces with efficiency.

With people staying at their homes amid 21-days coronavirus lockdown, it has become mandatory to ensure that they sanitize their homes properly. Keeping this in mind, the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Guwahati has developed a device that will disinfect homes, hospitals, etc. with efficiency.  

A team of researchers headed by Dr. Senthilmurugan Subbiah, Department of Chemical Engineering, IIT Guwahati has created two technologies – a UVC LED system to disinfect areas and a fabric to prevent the harmful virus from touching the body.

The Ultraviolet C (UVC) system is a technology that helps in sanitizing the microorganism infected non-porous surface. The institute has claimed that the system can kill up to 90 percent of the germs. The team is also improving the design by integrating UVC with an ozone system so that the surface with porous nature also can be sanitized, the institute said in a statement.

Three of the device has been designed to sanitize household and one of them for sanitizing bigger spaces like hospital wards, buses, metros, and railway compartments, including those transformed for coronavirus care, informed the institute.

IIT Guwahati is also giving technical support to identify the best waterproof material available in the Indian market and its performance. The waterproof team will explore potential technology for antimicrobial coating on Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to reduce the viral load on PPE on being exposed to novel coronavirus. PPE kit includes a jumped suite, face shield, mouth mask, head covers, gowns, and shoe covers.