An IoT Approach for Monitoring UV Disinfection Robots

Abstract

The use of ultraviolet germicidal irradiation (UVGI) technology as a means of disinfecting hospitals and other frontline settings has increased significantly in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Although the science of UVGI is well established, it can be difficult to determine in practice if sufficient levels of UVC has been irradiated to kill the target microbes in a room. This research presents the development of a low-cost wireless UVC sensor that can be used to systematically track the UV irradiation dose on target surfaces during a UV disinfection procedure. We present key elements of the design of this device, which included a custom PCB, enclosure, operating software, and graphical user interface. The applicability of the system was assessed through an experiment where the devices were placed at 12 locations in a CT scan treatment room that was subject to a UVGI disinfection procedure using an autonomous UV robot. Over the course of three cleaning sessions, each lasting approximately 10 minutes, it was found that each site location received an average UVC dose of 13mJ/cm <sup xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">2</sup> , which is more than published D90 values for SARS-Cov-2, influenza, and a number of known pathogens that are commonly found in hospital settings. This study provides early validation of the potential effectiveness of low-power wireless UV level monitoring technology, which may form part of future distributed room sensing networks or as part of smart wearable devices carried by relevant hospital staff.