Local company’s COVID-19 killing lights endorsed by independent testing lab
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HILLSBORO, OR (KPTV) — A Hillsboro company says it’s paving the way to help bring new technology to fight COVID-19.
UV Health Group said independent testing has revealed that their new lighting systems kill the coronavirus in the air.
In April, Fox 12 toured the design lab where Portland-based Lights. There and Hillsboro-based Northwest Innovative Technologies had partnered to create a LED and ultraviolet lighting system that they hoped would kill COVID-19 by disinfecting the air sucked into its system by tiny fans.
The company now has its new name, UV Health Group, and some testing results they’d been waiting for.
“I definitely believe it kills COVID,” said Dr. Paul Anderson, the associate director of the University of Missouri’s Laboratory for Infectious Disease Research.
Anderson led the scientific research to test the capability of the lights, using specially controlled chambers and samples of live COVID-19 virus.
“I can sample the air and quantitate the virus that I pull out of the air,” Anderson explained. “And we did it with the machine off to get the baseline, and then we repeated it the UV on, and it actually reduced it to below the level of detection,” Anderson said.
“It doesn’t remove the virus; it inactivates it,” Anderson said.
It’s exciting news for UV Health Group and for the lead engineer that designed the technology.
“I’ve done hundreds of products in my electronics career, and this one is definitely the warp speed, high-speed project,” said Steve Batti with Northwest Innovative Technologies.
Batti told Fox 12 he likes giving back and helping out during the tough and heartbreaking times brought on by the pandemic.
“It’s absolutely a wonderful gift for me,” Batti said. “I just feel tremendously fortunate to be a part of a program that does what we’re doing.”
In the next steps, the business plans a mass amount of manufacturing and, hopefully, shipping in January.
UV Health Group said it’s in talks with hospital systems, airlines and nursing homes about their lighting products.
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