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Pat Sweeney | Sep 16, 2020 AT 1:20 pm
UND is testing and helping develop new
technology that can decontaminate surfaces by zapping them with a handheld ultraviolet
light.
During the fall semester, California-based
SafetySpect will test its system in UND labs, where researchers will contaminate
various materials … then assess the light’s safety and effectiveness at
decontaminating them.
SafetySpect officials recently gave a
demonstration at UND Flight Operations. SafetySpect’s
CEO says the device can even scan for COVID-19.
SafetySpect’s goal is to have dozens
of prototype systems manufactured in North Dakota and ready for use in the
field by the end of the year.
UND says if testing is successful,
the Air Force and global food-services industry are likely to be interested.
The project is supported by a $1.5
million grant from the North Dakota Department of Agriculture.
(UND photo)
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UND release:
What if, when
confronted with a COVID-contaminated countertop, cockpit or control panel, a
person could decontaminate the entire surface by zapping it with a handheld
ultraviolet light?
Technology that
UND is testing and helping to develop could make it possible for people to do
just that. And if the testing is successful, the U.S. Air Force and the global
food-services industry are just two of the industrial behemoths that are likely
to be interested.
Supported by a $1.5
million grant from the North Dakota Department of Agriculture, SafetySpect
Inc. – a California-based company – is bringing its virus-fighting solution to
multiple UND labs for experimentation.
And – upon
setting up shop in the UND Center for Innovation – they’re aiming to establish
a Midwest footprint.
By the end of
the calendar year, SafetySpect’s goal is to have dozens of prototype UV light
scanner/disinfection systems, manufactured in North Dakota, ready for use in
the field.
On Sept. 1,
leaders of SafetySpect met with Joe Vacek, associate professor of aviation, at
UND Flight Operations for a brief demonstration. And over the course of the
fall semester, the SafetySpect system will be tested in UND labs, where
researchers will “contaminate” various materials and then assess the light’s
safety and effectiveness at decontaminating them.
Quickly and
safely
Sitting in the
cockpit, SafetySpect president and CEO Kenneth Barton aimed a handheld
spotlight emitting a deep glow, reminiscent of a black light. Nearby, a tablet
showed a live feed of the spotlight’s target: the control panel of a UND Piper
Archer aircraft.
“We’re using
the Contamination and Sanitation Inspection and Disinfection (CSI-D) tool to
identify respiratory droplets on sensitive airplane equipment that you cannot
traditionally just spray down with disinfectant,” Barton explained.
Continuing to
aim the device, Barton swept across high-touch areas such as the yoke of the
craft. On the tablet display, SafetySpect’s optical imaging technology
highlighted saliva enzymes as bright white spots.
The UVC LEDs
that “brightened” the enzymes can also render virus-carrying droplets inert
with a strong, brief exposure. The entire process is recorded and captured on
the tablet.
“After that, a
sanitation crew can get rid of the respiratory droplets in a safe manner,
because any virus would have been effectively neutralized by the UVC,” Barton
said.
Following
another scan, the bright white spots were gone. “And there has been no cross
contamination by any viral issues,” Barton concluded.
New approach
SafetySpect’s
CSI-D tool was designed originally for the food industry, for use in
restaurants and other institutional kitchens. The tool’s early models targeted
various biologics that can trigger food poisoning and other ailments. The
federal government recognizes the value of that work; so, since 2019, the
company has been working with the USDA to improve the CSI-D tool for
commercialization.
“Then when
COVID hit, we realized there is an enzyme in human respiratory droplets and
saliva,” Barton said. “So, we adapted the device to scan for that.”
As demonstrated
in the Piper Archer cockpit, the device uses UVC light to identify a
contaminant, then an operator can crank up the UVC to essentially kill the
virus. This use of UVC isn’t novel, but SafetySpect’s pairing of a tablet
device to tune its visual output, as well as record the sanitation process, can
create better record-keeping and more accountability in matters of public
health.
“All of the
process will be recorded, time-stamped, dated and location-stamped in a digital
record in the cloud,” said Fartash Vasefi, chief technology officer at
SafetySpect. “Other UV systems offer only the disinfection. They don’t have the
imaging and documentation to go with it.”
Developed on
campus
Vasefi
described where the University of North Dakota fits into the picture with
SafetySpect’s product development.
“The safety is
key,” Vasefi said.
In the lab at
the College of Engineering & Mines run by Kouhyar Tavakolian, associate
professor, director of the biomedical engineering program and principal
investigator on the SafetySpect project, researchers will shine the SafetySpect
device on a number of surfaces. Among the surfaces will be samples of the plastics,
metals, digital screens and upholstery typically found in airplane cockpits.
While an
operator conducts the scan, sensors will be placed on the operator’s body in
order to detect the intensity of back-reflected UV light. Tavakolian’s team
will study the results to gauge how much personal protection equipment will be
needed for safe operation.
“All of this
development has to be tied into experiments and validation, and that’s what’s
happening at UND,” Vasefi said.
The airline
industry, ravaged as it has been by the coronavirus pandemic, has become
increasingly interested in SafetySpect’s technology, according to the project
leads. What better place to test the technology on aircraft than the nation’s
top flight school?
Tavakolian
wants to create a space where he and his team can show the repeatability of the
device’s saliva detection abilities. He is also working with virologist Nadeem
Khan at the School of Medicine & Health Sciences to understand how intense
the UV light needs to be, and how long is needed for appropriate exposure, to
disable viruses. COVID-19 cannot be used in testing on campus, but other
pathogens can be tested at the School of Medicine & Health Sciences.
“We think that,
in the future, this could be useful for any pathogen that can be transmitted
through respiratory droplets,” Tavakolian said. “Remember, even if a vaccine
comes, the coronavirus is not going to vanish overnight. Once we have a unit
such as the CSI-D tool, we can always improve its accuracy and its size, and we
also can always improve on the safety of it.”
New presence
With an
established presence at UND, SafetySpect is also working with manufacturer
ComDel Innovation in Wahpeton, N.D., to produce the shells for the UVC
spotlights/camera prototypes and assemble the finished products.
Barton,
SafetySpect’s CEO, said the resources and business climate in North Dakota
present an exciting opportunity for a potentially industry-altering technology.
For UND, the
collaborative project shows the value of UND’s research and development
capabilities, said John Mihelich, interim vice president for research and
economic development.
“We’re focused
on increasing these types of partnerships in order to move our research and
development forward, have an impact and bring new industry partners to the
state,” Mihelich said.
Tavakolian is
keen on seeing whether the product can help with the COVID-19 situation
affecting everyday life around UND and communities across the country.
“You can have
it in schools, restaurants, airplanes and the like, so we should be able to get
some user response,” Tavakolian said. “Hopefully that will help the company and
the whole idea to go forward quickly.
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