Hi everyone, I am proud to be a member of OB community to see OB products/ideas are being used to fight this fairly scary virus. In the long run it seems it will be a headache for all of the humanity first for health concerns and second the economic impact on current businesses. In the early days when the news started to spread I put some thought into tackling the viral threats to community and came up with few ideas we possibly can use as a weapon to protect ourselves, our families and our communities in general. As a forensic scientist I have used some technologies to examine material in forensic labs and familiar (not an in depth expert) with use of Ultra-violet light sources to eliminate risks arise from contaminated material before examination. I believe with the know-how of this community we can come up with a device/solution to be used against viruses/bacteria to protect our community from such risks not only for covid-19 but also for possible future outbreaks as well. Do you think we can come up with a joint project to tackle the problem or do you think it is far beyond us given the fact that the device will involve possible public use? I have already designed (a very basic) cabin that utilizes a UVC light source and hand sanitizer for home use. I started to build the prototype so it can be a starting point if it is feasible for this community to move forward. I know the direct contact risks of UVC light (certain wavelengths) to human skin and eye. So the prototype I designed does not turn the UV light on when the doors of the cabin is not closed (to eliminate the viruses on items like mobile phones, gloves, masks, keys, wallets, banknotes etc.) and it will activate the sanitizers when the sensor detects movement inside the cabin so the user does not touch anything). It of course is mandatory to use a on-off/uv/sanitize selection switch but we together can come up with other ideas as well.
Future outbreaks are essentially guaranteed. HPAI A H5N1, SARS-CoV-1, MERS-CoV, 09/H1N1, SARS-CoV-2... And that's just the more notable ones of the last 30 years. There's a reasonable chance that in another 20-30 years there'll be a SARS-CoV-3, and probably a new flu A (maybe H7N9?) in the meantime, especially when you combine the effects of wealth inequality, climate change, and all the other force multipliers we have going on in the world toward transmissibility of novel viruses. What's the transmission of UVC like? That is, do items have to be inserted as flat as possible and one at a time, or can you just dump a few things inside and it'll blast all the way through? I think open designs for home use and emergency use have merit, though right now there's a danger of too many designs becoming available (especially for things like masks and ventilators) which I suspect could cause choice overload and actually serving to reduce usage in times where necessary.
My best bet would be on having a cabin compartment as in ovens (place items on grill like surface) and have the UV light reflect from all directions. Most acrylic have UV protection on them but Aluminum is known to be less contaminant and virus is able to live in shorter periods on Alu surfaces.
By the way for those who might be interested as an extra pre-caution; I ve found this on amazon uk... https://www.amazon.co.uk/Sterilizat...f=sr_1_10?keywords=uvc&qid=1585295486&sr=8-10
