(Photo : Xenex) Xenex's UV pulsating 'germ-zapping robot'


A "germ-zapping robot" developed in Texas and used to disinfect hospital rooms may be the latest tool in the war against the ever-spreading Ebola virus.



The device, manufactured by San Antonio-based Xenex, uses ultraviolet light radiated by a non-toxic gas called xenon to coalesce DNA of viruses and bacteria to stop them from mutating or reproducing.



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This technology is already being used in around 250 medical facilities in the United States including the one in Dallas, Texas where the first Ebola patient to arrive on American soil was treated.



According to a spokesperson from Xenex, the robot, mounted on wheels for easy transport, emits the UV light which pulsates through a two to three-meter radius for about five minutes to disinfect the area.



Created by an inventor from Alamo City, the device named "Little Moe" was first made commercially available in 2010 and now costs a minimum of US$104,000.



Though the technology that uses UV rays in sterilizing a room had already been present for several decades, the "germ-zapping robot" was able to speed up the process by using xenon's inert property instead of mercury.



According to Mashable, xenon's light is 25,000 times brighter than that emitted by the sun and can disinfect a room between five to ten minutes as compared to the one hour necessary for a mercury-based UV disinfection machine.



The company claimed that the Ebola virus is much easier to kill than that of other contagious diseases, citing that the biggest threat to patients are the 'superbugs' which they described to be bacteria and viruses which mutate into becoming immune to traditional disinfection.



"While cases of emerging rare diseases like Ebola and MERS may be high-profile, nearly 300 people in the U.S. die each day from a hospital-acquired infection like MRSA, C. diff or VRE infections," a Xenex statement indicated.



Dr. Mark Stibich, a co-founder of Xenex, explained that the company had already communed with Texas public health officials to extend their support in the battle against the Ebola virus.




Tagsgerms, Virus, bacteria, disinfection, Virus, outbreak, germ zapping bot, germ root, little moe