Ebola virus disease is a hemorrhagic fever caused by infection with the Ebola virus. The virus is highly contagious, but only spreads through contact with blood and other bodily fluids of infected people.

The Republic of Liberia is one of four countries in West Africa affected by the Ebola outbreak which, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), started in Guinea in December 2013 before spreading to neighboring Liberia and Sierra Leone, and then to Nigeria. WHO says over 1,200 people in the four countries have died in the outbreak.

Two robots designed to deliver lethal doses of ultraviolet light that modify the DNA structure of superbugs so they can no longer reproduce and harm patients are to be deployed in Liberian hospitals caring for patients with Ebola virus disease.

The two 5′ 5″ machines – known as TRU-D SmartUVC – use a unique technology called Sensor360 to calculate the time needed to react to the particular features of a room. For instance, the technology takes into account the size, shape, surface reflectivity, the amount of equipment in the room and where it is situated.

Share on Pinterest The TRU-D (Total Room Ultraviolet Disinfector) device delivers a single, lethal cycle of UV-C light from the middle of the room.

Image credit: PRNewsFoto/TRU-D

Once it has calculated these room paramaters, the TRU-D (Total Room Ultraviolet Disinfector) device delivers a single, lethal cycle of UV-C light from the middle of the room.

The deadly dose of UV-C light alters the DNA of viruses like Ebola so they cannot replicate and carry on spreading and colonizing patients.

Nearly a dozen validation studies show that TRU-D is 99.99% effective in eliminating the most common pathogens that cause health care associated infections.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) emphasize that thorough disinfection and safe handling of potentially contaminated materials is extremely important in hospitals treating Ebola patients. Traces of the virus can remain in blood, sweat, vomit, feces and other bodily secretions and potentially infect anyone coming into contact with them.

Dozens of disease specialists from the CDC are already in Liberia, helping the authorities contain one of the largest outbreaks of Ebola in history.