(135a) Leveraging UV-C LEDs Vs. Mercury-Based Lamps for Electronic Disinfection in Healthcare

UV germicidal generators have been used commonly for both disinfection and treatment of water and surfaces for years. High-pressure or low-pressure mercury-based lamps are the most common devices used in these applications. However, mercury lamps come with many limitations including a long warm-up time, risk of mercury exposure, lower efficacy in refrigeration temperatures, heat generation, and broad light spectrum output. In order to minimize these limitations, UV-C LEDs operating at 260 nm to 280 nm were implemented to disinfect portable hand held electronics. Additional advantages of the restricted wavelength range of the UV-C LEDs include zero material degradation, minimal thermal transfer for battery preservation, thorough exposure in a shadow-less chamber, and minimal time (60 seconds) to desired efficacy LOG reduction.