By Batya Jerenberg, World Israel News -
Tel Aviv’s Sourasky Medical Center, commonly referred to as Ichilov Hospital, has become the first to use light to disinfect medical spaces, the hospital announced Saturday.
The J. Protect system, made by Israeli start-up Juganu, uses two kinds of ultraviolet light along with the regular lighting a room needs. The lower level UV-A can be used while people are present. UV-C, which is a stronger sanitizer, can be used when the room is empty, to deactivate all bacteria, fungi and viruses – including COVID 19 – in under an hour.
“It is the first system of its kind in the world that provides protection and sanitizes populated spaces in a safe, continuous manner,” Ichilov’s Facebook post said.
The first place the hospital installed the system was the imaging department, where CT scanners, x-ray and MRI machines are used for one ill patient after another all day every day, making the high-traffic area particularly susceptible to the spread of germs.
“The corona epidemic is causing high morbidity,” said department head Prof. Arye Blachar, “and there is great concern in hospitals regarding the spread of the disease via patient exposure to the virus through radiography machines and in hospitals [in general]. Solutions like Juganu’s high-tech give us hope for a healthier future by guarding the health of our patients and workers.”
The technology, which the company calls The Foam, goes directly into pre-existing light fixtures and can be used in any enclosed space. This means that any indoors place where people go, whether shopping, school, or the office, can also be made into a healthier environment for those wary of leaving home during an epidemic.
Founded in 2011 by serial entrepreneurs Eran Ben-Shmuel and Alexander Bilchinsky, Juganu concocted its health feature in direct response to the coronavirus. The smart system as a whole was created so that retailers could connect their lighting to cameras and sensors that could optimize their operations. For example, it can show management where the traffic in their stores is highest, how the checkout arrangement could be improved, and provide customers with an in-store map on their phones so they can quickly find the product they want.
Juganu also provides cities with smart lighting systems whose sensors and AI platforms can help with traffic flow, detect emergencies such as accidents and inform the proper authorities, and even record pollution levels.
Image: AlexJilitsky, CC BY-SA 3.0 <;, via Wikimedia Commons
