UVB, and UVC. Of the three, UVC has the shortest wavelength, the highest energy, and is most easily absorbed by most organic material.
UVC Disinfection. Using UV light to disinfect is a fast, effective, and safe technique that utilizes UVC. When exposed to UVC light, microorganisms such as bacteria, viruses, fungi, cysts, and mold are affected in a way such that they can no longer multiply, rendering them harmless. UV disinfection can be used on surfaces, in air, and in water. Disinfection performance is a function of the UVC dose applied to the microorganism. While all micro-organisms respond to UVC light in different ways, if given the appropriate dose, which is the product of UVC power multiplied by time, 99.99% of micro-organisms can be killed. Microorganisms such as bacteria, viruses, fungi, cysts, and mold are simple life forms that reproduce by subdivision, budding, or by producing spores. Reproduction of these organisms is vital to their life cycle: loss of their ability to grow and multiply is classified as cellular death, and renders them harmless and no longer pathogenic. When exposing microorganisms to UVC light, the energy generated from UVC light is absorbed into the microbes’ cellular RNA and DNA, damaging nucleic acids and preventing microorganisms from infecting and reproducing. The absorption of UVC energy forms new bonds between nucleotides, creating double bonds or “dimers.” Demineralization of molecules, particularly thymine, is the most common type of damage done to microorganisms by UVC. Formation of thymine dimers in the DNA of bacteria, fungi and viruses prevents replication and the ability to infect. Because UVC disinfection does not rely on chemicals or filtration materials, it can be used effectively and safely in many applications including in drinking water, in air.
LEDs. The traditional approach to generating UV light for disinfection applications has been the mercury discharge lamp, which is a fluorescent bulb without the phosphor coating. Mercury lamps come in two main types: a low-pressure lamp that produces a single wavelength at 254nm; and a medium pressure lamp that emits a multiple wavelength output. Unlike traditional mercury lamps, whose output wavelength is fixed, UV LEDs can be manufactured to operate at the optimum wavelength for the application. UV LEDs also switch on and off instantly and can actually be pulsed without any detriment to lifetime, making them more user-friendly and safer for the operator. Miniature, robust, and operating with a low electrical power, UV LEDs can be manufactured with a highly stable output, operating at the optimum wavelength for the application, making them ideal for compact and portable systems. The design rules for UV LEDs open new opportunities of what can be disinfected as, unlike the long tube shape of mercury lamps, LEDs can be mounted in flat panels; on flexible circuit boards; on the outside of cylinders and elsewhere.
Intellectual Property
Developing and maintaining a strong intellectual property position is an important element of our business. We maintain the intellectual property through a combination of patent protection, trademarks, and trade secrets. We have sought, and will continue to seek, patent protection for our technology, for improvements to our technology, as well as for any of our other technologies where we believe such protection will be advantageous.
As of August 24, 2020, SteriLumen owned six issued patents and one pending patent application in the United States; owned one issued patent in the European Union and has 6 pending patent applications, which are in China, the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan. The U.S. patent numbers are 9,724,442, 10,039,853, 10,307,504, 10,456,496, 10,463,759 and 10,639,394 issued on August 8, 2017, August 7, 2018, June 4, 2019, October 29, 2019, November 5, 2019 and June 13, 2020, respectively. The Company has also received an Issue Notification from the United States Patent and Trademark Office that its pending patent will be issued on August 11, 2020 and assigned patent number 10,738,446. The issued patents and pending patent applications cover various aspects of the SteriLumen Disinfecting System including, the disinfection system; disinfection system embedded into a fixture generally, and a vanity mirror specifically, and the mechanical components of any such mirror, including hinge mount and programmable controller for regulating UV light.
On December 3, 2019, SteriLumen received a trademark registration of its trademark or brand name “SteriLumen.”
SteriLumen will be protecting and enforcing its issued patents, trade secrets, know-how, copyrights, and trademarks, as well as continuing to pursue technological innovation and licensing opportunities, and developing and maintaining its competitive position in the vanity mirror and disinfecting product markets for