UV lamp designed to disinfect crowded spaces

The Care 222 UV lamp aims to kill COVID in spaces where the risk of contagion is high, such as on buses, elevators and offices

Spotted: Japanese light-maker Ushio Inc. has launched an ultraviolet lamp designed to kill coronavirus, without harm to human health.

Named “The Care 222 UV lamp”, it was developed together with Columbia University to be used for the disinfection of spaces with high foot traffic, where the risk of contagion is high, such as on buses, trains and elevators and in offices.

Whilst UV lamps have been effectively used as a means of sterilisation in the medical and food-processing industries, until now, they have not been able to be used in spaces where there are people, as they can cause skin cancer and damage eyesight. Ushio’s new lamp, however, emits UV rays with a wavelength of 222 nanometres, as opposed to the conventional 254-nanometre wavelength, making them lethal to germs but safe to humans.

A recent third-party study by Hiroshima University confirmed the 222-nanometre UV rays are effective in killing the new coronavirus, Ushio said.

When attached to a ceiling, within 6 to 7 minutes the lamp inactivates 99 per cent of viruses and bacteria in the air, as well as surfaces within a 3-square-metre radius. 

Care 222 weighs 1.2 kilograms and is about the size of a hardcover book. It is currently priced at the equivalent of €2308.80. For now, the company is only accepting orders from medical institutions, but it will be available for other customers once production progresses. 

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