UVC Blaster Mini

The important difference between N95 respirators and surgical masks is discussed by Kaiser Health News. Surgical masks do not protect against COVID-19 while N95 respirators can. Shortages of N95 respirators therefore can not continue to be mitigated with surgical masks. As a result, "the failure to get more and better protective gear to health workers could cost more lives."

https://khn.org/news/widely-used-surgical-masks-are-putting-health-care-workers-at-serious-risk/  

Find videos and descriptions from the Research Institute for the McGill University Health Centre below:

https://www.ctvnews.ca/video?playlistId=1.4919134 

https://rimuhc.ca/-/the-research-institute-of-the-mcgill-university-health-centre-brings-and-tests-the-first-uv-disinfection-robot-in-canada?redirect=%2Fri-muhc-live

Watch a thorough discussion on N95 respirator decontamination. 

Webinar outline:

• The Basics
• Hydrogen Peroxide Vapor
• UV-C
• Dry & Moist Heat
• Wrap-Up

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=prZxtgK0uJ8&feature=youtu.be  

In 2006, a committee for the Development of Reusable Facemasks for Use During an Influenza Pandemic was assembled as part of the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies. In conclusion, a thorough report accessible at the link below was published. In the report, a case is made for the need to decontaminate the exterior surfaces of the respirators only and not throughout the depths of the respirator filter material. From this perspective, UVC makes sense as it decontaminates line-of-sight and does not penetrate the filter; pathogens could be decontaminated on the surface while the performance of the filter remains unharmed.

Exposure to airborne substances can result in contamination of the external surface of the respirator or medical mask as well as contamination of the filter material... Laboratory loading tests of inert bacterial particles have found that while filters will capture particles throughout the extent of the media, particles are held with considerable attractive force and are quite difficult to remove, even when the filter is subjected to high bursts of air similar to coughs and sneezes or when dropped onto a hard surface (Qian et al., 1997a; Qian et al., 1997b; Kennedy and Hinds, 2004). As a result, the filter material in respirators and medical masks does not present a hazard during use... It is possible, however, that heavily loaded filters could release particles during handling because the particles may be held by weaker attractive forces.

https://www.nap.edu/read/11637/chapter/5#50

If the device includes a UV lamp, FDA recommends that the manufacturer evaluate whether the product controls for time, UV radiation dose, and intensity of UV dose, and validates the cleaning and disinfection procedures.

The FDA also recommends specific labeling for UVC decontamination devices:

a) A caution that UV disinfection will reduce the number of pathogens on the device, but it will not eliminate them completely. 

b) A statement that the device is an adjunct to currently existing reprocessing practices and not a replacement or modification to such practices. 

c) A statement regarding the time, distance, and maximum area over which the device has been evaluated for effectiveness. 

d) An appropriate UV hazard warning label.

e) Identification of the expected UV lamp operational life and instructions for procedures on replacement of the UV lamp when needed. 

f) Procedures to follow if the UV lamp malfunctions or fails. 

g) Description of the preparation of equipment or the room for disinfection 

h) A statement that the equipment intended to be disinfected is UV compatible.

i) Identification of the UV dose.

UV disinfecting devices include UV radiation chamber disinfection devices, which are regulated as Class II devices under 21 CFR 880.6600 (product code OSZ).

https://www.fda.gov/media/136533/download  

Inspired words from Inpro Tech President Eric Couch: “We got involved because we live in this community and have family members on the front lines... Anything we can do to help, it’s our job as community members..." Inpro has prototyped a conveyor belt UVC decontamination device for N95 respirators. Higher UVC irradiance compared to most hospital based UVC devices increases their throughput of decontaminated respirators. In a statement on their website linked below, scaling production would provide decontamination to hospitals across the State of Maryland. Thank you to the Inpro team for their efforts: Eric, Bob, Quintin, Danielle, and Megan!

https://inprotechnologies.com/  

https://www.localdvm.com/news/inpro-technologies-inc-changes-the-game-with-respirator-cleaning-machine/?utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook_WDVM&fbclid=IwAR2jIQaH6jST8QgUBuj-8qRGXisjN5SrQiTx2UaK3nhqtK9H0N5lTd1IJa0  

National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) updates a long list of approved N95 respirators or masks (in the link provided). Within this list there are many N95 mask variations in terms of make and model. It is important to note, because of this variation scientific findings for N95 decontamination can be influenced by the masks chosen for the study. These findings, therefore, may or may not directly apply to the masks at hand. 

https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/npptl/topics/respirators/disp_part/n95list1.html  

UVC disinfection is often used with other technologies in a multibarrier approach to ensure that whatever pathogen is not “killed” by one method (say filtering or cleaning) is inactivated by another (UVC). In this way UVC could be installed now in clinical or other settings to augment existing processes or to shore up existing protocols where these are exhausted by excessive demands due to the pandemic.

https://mcusercontent.com/83d3a9670791311154f15cd20/files/928712dd-fa3b-42f9-9147-2ef3e278d12f/IUVA_Fact_Sheet_on_COVID_19.docx

UVGI decontamination can be effective against influenza in the presence of soiling agents on N95 FFRs. 

• UVGI decontamination can be adversely affected by certain FFR materials (e.g., hydrophobic), FFR shapes, and the UV exposure device (e.g., UV distribution) if not designed for compatibility with UVDR applications. 
• FFRs can withstand multiple cycles of UVGI decontamination without significantly impacting performance, but the maximum level of UVGI exposure allowed will be dependent on the FFR model. 
• The repeated act of donning/doffing will likely have more of an adverse impact on FFR performance than UVGI under reuse conditions. 
• UVGI decontamination can be effective against multiple influenza and coronavirus strains in the presence of soiling agents on N95 FFRs 
• UVGI decontamination can be performed without significantly impacting flammability or fluid resistance. 
• HCWs prefer to keep FFRs for their own use as opposed to sharing. 
• HCWs favor having UV decontamination near point-of-care. 
• Information regarding logistics and effectiveness of UVGI strategy in hospitals will need to come from respected authority. 
• There is a need for N95 respirators designed for hospital decontamination and reuse to meet the needs of HCWs. 
• It was noted that FFRs following UVGI treatment contained a singed odor.'

https://www.ara.com/sites/default/files/MitigateShortageofRespiratoryProtectionDevices_2.pdf?fbclid=IwAR3wUNV6hQT38aPl2GKOVXL4CAtTlw7Mxl_Oyq-rlEszTGvrF4ibfCBiSSg

"Decontamination and subsequent reuse of FFRs should only be practiced as a crisis capacity strategy... An effective FFR decontamination method should reduce the pathogen burden, maintain the function of the FFR, and present no residual chemical hazard... Because ultraviolet germicidal irradiation (UVGI), vaporous hydrogen peroxide (VHP), and moist heat showed the most promise as potential methods to decontaminate FFRs, researchers, decontamination companies, healthcare systems, or inpidual hospitals should focus current efforts on these technologies...

Although, no current data exists supporting the effectiveness of these decontamination methods specifically against SARS-CoV-2 on an FFR... Ultraviolet germicidal irradiation (UVGI) [0.5–1.8 J/cm2] was found to be at least 99.9% effective in terms of antimicrobial efficacy for all tested viruses including pathogens similar to SARS-CoV-2."

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/hcp/ppe-strategy/decontamination-reuse-respirators.html?fbclid=IwAR3EIgtQUEV3JkjL8ZdqTmUKalysK9ABbOzgB7Wtw47-xCNbpkZsbfNkZF4