CLEVELAND, Ohio — Cleveland's NASA Glenn Research Center has joined the fight against the coronavirus. It's collaborating with Kent-based company Emergency Products and Research to create a fogging system called AMBUstat G2.
- The system sprays a mist full of disinfectant that will kill pathogens floating in the air, such as the coronavirus
- The product is being developed and tested within Northeast Ohio
- Engineers hope to keep it cost-effective so underserved communities can afford it
The product can be used to decontaminate ambulances and other public spaces in under an hour.
"This is something that you do when the space is empty, and you have a crew who will basically fog the classroom, you have to let the, the mist go in the room, you have to let it sit there and, so it has time to kill the microbes, the bacteria, the viruses. And then after that, you have to let the ventilation aerate, the room and make sure that everything is evaporated before people can go back in," said Marit Meyer, research aerospace engineer, NASA Glenn Research Center.
AMBUstat G2 is supposed to kill pathogens, such as the coronavirus, that are floating in the air.
Engineers hope to keep it cost-effective so underserved communities can afford the technology.
"From the ground up, this was intended to be affordable, and so you can imagine a small business owner or an underprivileged school district or, you know, non-profits or places of worship could afford to buy one and keep the place clean for their people to come," said Meyer.
Meyer says while other disinfectant foggers are available, this product will be a fraction of the cost.
It's being developed, researched and tested all within Northeast Ohio. Once testing is complete, the hope is to put it on the market soon as Ohio moves to reopen the state.
"I think it's really important to give the public confidence to come back out of their houses and if we can show that there is an effective way to do it for a reasonable price and if that is advertised by the spaces that are opening up, I think the public will come back," said Meyer.