PositiveNewsCorner

Bengaluru-based startup Log9’s CoronaOven is a new device that would be used in the fight against Covd-19. CoronaOven can completely disinfect any item, including masks, hospital PPE, tools and groceries.

Akshay Singhal, cofounder of Log9, claimed that the device can kill the virus in less than 10 minutes on any surface. “This product is especially advantageous in Stage 3 and 4 of the spread by preventing surface to human transmission and reuse of limited medical supplies by ensuring complete sanitization,” he said.

Ultraviolet C, a type of ultraviolet energy of short wavelength, when exposed to a virus, penetrates its shell and makes a permanent alteration in its RNA structure. This alteration, in turn, makes the virus incapable of replicating in any live cell or causing any further infection.

Log9’s CoronaOven has been designed based on the aforementioned and other similar scientific studies. “Based on these scientific evidences and assessments, we came up with our new product made with UVC-safe materials, which not only ensures safe operations of the equipments inside the oven, but also ensures UV ray blockage so that outside personnel/users do not get adversely affected,” Singhal explained.

Another interesting feature of the product is that it has a 360-degree illumination design which makes sure that each point of an object inside it receives the required wavelength and UV dose. Traditionally, the UV boxes available in the market and those in salons and hospitals do not deliver the required wavelength of UVC and neither have 360-degree irradiation. “This leads to generation of shadow areas on objects placed inside these boxes which leaves patches of unexposed surfaces, making such UV boxes unsuitable for decontaminating all surfaces at the same time,” he said.

Log9’s technology has the potential to remove the looming fear and suspicion of touching unknown objects and surfaces. It can be a solution to human transmission by disinfecting regular objects and carriers of the virus such as food, parcels, couriers, masks, etc.

Its applications range from healthcare settings to household, commercial establishments, and warehouses.  “In healthcare settings such as hospitals, CoronaOven can be used to quickly decontaminate/sterilize medical equipment like N95 masks, eye goggles, face shields, etc. This also enables reuse or multiple time usage of these masks and helps front-line workers like doctors and nurses to remain infectionfree, even when there is a shortage/unavailability of masks and PPEs,” he said.

In homes, people can easily sterilize their groceries, utensils, water bottles, other home appliances and accessories. CoronaOven is compatible with solid surfaces of plastic, metal, leather and fabric. The product comes in multiple variants in two categories- plug-in and portable.