Development of Human-Safe, Miniature Far-UVC Microplasma lamps for Personal Protective Respirators

The COVID-19 pandemic caused by the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 has exposed weaknesses in society’s ability to rapidly respond to a global public health problem. SARS-CoV- 2 is highly contagious and can cause mild to extremely severe disease symptoms (fever, chills, body aches, difficulty breathing) and death. It is believed that the main route for transmission is aerosol droplets discharged from an infected person as a result of coughing, sneezing, talking or even simple respiration. Eden Park Illumination has commercialized a new generation of far- UVC light sources (222 nm) using low-temperature microcavity plasma technology. The shorter wavelength of this excimer microplasma technology offers effective microbial disinfection typically associated with conventional germicidal UVC lamps (254 nm) but without the corresponding human health hazards since it does not penetrate the human skin or outer tear layers of the eye. While some companies are using UVC to treat indoor environments during the pandemic, none are focused on individual protection devices. Eden Park Illumination and XCMR, Inc, have assembled a highly experienced team of experts to incorporate this novel microplasma technology into a re-useable, wearable (battery-powered) Personal Electromagnetic Antimicrobial Protection (PEAP) device for inactivation of microbes present in inhaled and exhaled air and around the face and eyes. Miniature “tiled” microplasma devices will be developed that integrate various form-factors of geometry and exposure to achieve rapid microbial inactivation during respiration. Each iteration of the lamps will be evaluated and optimized for microbial inactivation of surrogate viruses and for efficacy. A prototype of the optimum PEAP device will be produced by the end of Phase I. In Phase II, we will develop the manufacturing processes for various designs to establish scaled production capabilities to rapidly ramp to at least 5,000 systems per month based on commercial demand. Innovative, miniature, wearable personal protection devices that use human-safe microplasma far-UVC light tiles to inactivate harmful airborne viruses for both public domain as well as national security applications.