An award-winning Harley Street clinic is using a COVID-19 fighting sanitising machine as a weapon in the war against the coronavirus.
Medics at Harley Street Skin are using a device that combines UV-C technology with ozone technology to kill 99.9% of airborne viruses, including the flu and COVID-19.
The small, portable UV-C Sanispace machines are the first devices in the UK to harness the inactivating properties of ozone.
The machines work by recirculating room air; contaminated air is exposed to direct UV-C light inside the Sanispace machine and sterilised destroying unwanted particles including those belonging to the coronavirus.
Dr Aamer Khan, founder of Harley Street Skin and recent winner of the British Citizen Award said: “For more than 100 years, ozone has been widely used by people for disinfection, sterilisation, deodorisation, disintoxication, storage, and bleaching because of its strong oxidability.
“Tests on the Sanispace machines show that we can inactivate a bacteriophage in an aerosol state called MS2 which is 7-10 times more resistant than coronavirus.
“Inactivation is 90% after 1 hour and 99% after 2 hours which means that in any room where the machine is installed there will be a protective shield from the virus.
“It keeps both the air and the surfaces sterile, and because of its compact size, it’s a cost-effective solution for a healthcare setting allowing us to control the potential spread of Covid-19 in our clinics and keep our patients safe whilst in our care.
“It is the strongest weapon we currently have to combat the virus until the vaccination programme is deployed.”
John Earle, Director of Aster International, providers of the ‘Covid Killing’ machines in the UK said: “The Sanispace machines re-circulate the room air, so the ‘contaminated’ air is being exposed to direct UV-C light inside the machine.
“UV-C light effectively destroys unwanted vira, bacteria, pollen, fungi, mould and other unwanted particles in the air. UV-C light is an effective steriliser of contaminated air.
“UV-C technology is commonly known and effective but will never be able to clean all the air in the room unless you recirculate the room air 5-6 times per hour.
“It takes only about 10 minutes for bacteria to multiply, so in order to keep up with the growth of bacteria you need to recirculate the air 5-6 times which requires a very big, powerful and noisy ventilator. The difference between a Sanispace machine and a UV-C air cleaner is that it combines UV-C technology with ozone technology and is capable of keeping the air and the surface of the room continuously disinfected.
“The machines are small and portable and affordable, they could be the first line of defence against the coronavirus which continues to threaten our lives.”