Faculty of Engineering, Thammasat University led by Asst. Prof. Dr. Prachaya Prempraneerat and the Faculty of Allied Health Sciences, Thammasat University, led by Assoc. Prof. Dr. Worada Samosornsook, has collaborated to invent the ‘Smart Handy’ innovation, a UVC disinfection tunnel that can kill up to 99% of viruses and bacteria on various materials in 18 seconds to help reduce the current epidemic of coronavirus disease 2019.
Asst. Prof. Dr. Prachaya Prempraneerat, Faculty of Engineering, Thammasat University revealed that behind the development of this innovation was an experiment with UVC radiation with a wavelength of 253.7 nm which is found to destroy the DNA and RNA of small organisms, making them unable to reproduce nor cause more disease. This equates to a high potential to destroy pathogens’ DNA and RNA and therefore kill the pathogens. Importantly, the concentration of UVC can kill viruses and bacteria as well. Then selected high quality equipment from leading manufacturers that does not cause substances that destroy the Earth’s ozone layer which is the cause of global warming.
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Worada Samosornsook, Faculty of Allied Health Sciences, Thammasat University said that as an expert in microbiology, from the research, the result has shown that ‘Smart Handy’ is capable of killing Bacillus Atrophaeus, a spore-forming organism. Hence, it can be used to kill viruses and bacteria as well, and it is effective in stopping up to 10,000 cells and has been tested by instilling Bacillus atrophia on various surfaces such as leather bags, luggages, plastic materials, parcel boxes, etc., and then go through the disinfection process with the ‘Smart Handy’ automatic disinfection tunnel. It was found that within 15 seconds, it can kill 95% of germs. If the disinfection process time is extended to 18 seconds, it was found that it can kill up to 99% of germs attached to objects. Therefore, this innovation can help stop the epidemic of the viruses and bacteria, protecting people’s health and well-being, and increasing confidence for the people to be living in an era where pathogens are rapidly evolving species, including those associated with emerging diseases.
‘Smart Handy’, an automatic disinfection tunnel has registered a patent from the Department of Intellectual Property. In addition, it has already been installed for testing at the Suvarnabhumi International Airport office building, Airports of Thailand Public Company Limited or AOT.