In the fight against COVID-19, Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has developed automatic mist-based sanitiser dispensing unit and hand-held UV device which can enhance the operations at public places during the pandemic, the organisation said. The Centre for Fire Explosive & Environment Safety (CFEES) in Delhi using mist technology for fire suppression has developed an automatic mist-based sanitiser dispensing unit.

It can be used for sanitisation of hands at entry and exit to hospitals, malls, office buildings, residential buildings, airports, metro stations, railway stations, bus stations and critical installations. It is also expected to be very useful for the entry and exit of isolation and quarantine centres.

"It is a contactless sanitiser dispenser which sprays alcohol based hand rub sanitiser solution for sanitisation of hands while entering the buildings/office complexes, etc. It is based on water mist aerator technology, which was developed for water conservation," DRDO said in a statement.

The DRDO explained that the unit operates without contact and is activated through an ultrasonic sensor. A single fluid nozzle with low flow rate is used to generate aerated mist to dispense the hand rub sanitiser.

This sanitises the hands with minimum wastage. "Using atomiser, only 5-6 ml sanitiser is released for 12 seconds in one operation and it gives the full cone spray over both palms so that disinfection operation of hands is complete," the DRDO stated.

It is a very compact unit and bulk fill option makes it an economical and long-lasting product. It is easy to install the system on walls or on a platform.

The unit is manufactured with the help of Riot Labz Pvt Ltd which is based in Noida and one unit has been installed at the DRDO Bhawan.

In addition to this, the Defence Institute of Physiology and Allied Sciences (DIPAS) and the Institute of Nuclear Medicine and Allied Sciences (INMAS), both based in Delhi, have designed and developed Ultraviolet C Light-based sanitisation box and handheld UV-C, ultraviolet light with wavelength 254 nanometres, device.

The UV-C consists of a shorter, more energetic wavelength of light. It is particularly good at destroying genetic material.

The radiation warps the structure RNA which prevents the viral particles from making more copies of themselves.

The UV-C kills microbes quickly. Sanitisation of the items by employing UV-C light avoids the harmful effects of the chemicals used for the disinfection. This is environment friendly and is a contact-free effective sanitisation method.

The UV-C box is designed for disinfecting personal belongings like mobile phone, tablets, purse, currency, cover of office files. The COVID-19 virus will be deactivated by using UVC lamps in one minute if placed equidistantly in a box.

The handheld device disinfects office and household objects like chairs, files, postal delivered items and food packets.