By GREGORY ZELLER //
A cornerstone Long Island innovator has seen the light: continuous ultraviolet disinfection that doesn’t sacrifice clear vision.
Wave hello to WavePort, a patent-pending technology from Melville-based product producer Leviton Manufacturing Co. coming soon to operating rooms and other spaces in need of perpetual disinfection and crystal-clear lighting.
Founded in 1906, Leviton is manufacturing royalty, with its Midas touch infusing electrical, lighting, data and energy-management systems around the globe. WavePort rolls out under the Certolux specialty luminaire brand marketed by Leviton subsidiary Viscor.
While ultraviolet disinfection is nothing new, most existing UV technologies emit garish purple light – a direct challenge to visible light and human peepers. In surgical suites and other environments where both sterilization and visual clarity are paramount (research laboratories and medical warehouses, for instance), that won’t do.
Timothy Stevens: Light touch.
Enter WavePort, “a game-changer for continuous disinfection lighting,” according to Leviton Director of Product Management Timothy Stevens.
“Existing technologies such as visible-light disinfection compromise the white light by accentuating the purple spectrum during occupancy,” Stevens noted Wednesday. “However, in places like surgical suites, WavePort provides continuous disinfection without forfeiting the quality of visible light.”
The proprietary disinfection-lighting technology emits controlled bursts of invisible UVA light (as opposed to UVB) to reduce surface bacteria. While UVB light actually causes sunburn, UVA light comprises an overwhelming percentage of the sunlight that reaches Earth and carries its own exposure risks.
However, WavePort’s low-energy emissions – deadly to bacteria on tables, clothing and other surfaces – are “suitable for 24-hour human exposure,” according to Leviton.
There’s virtually no reason for humans to be exposed to WavePort’s bacterial death rays for 24 consecutive hours, so the risks are infinitesimally low – and the future is very bright, according to Stevens, who sees the cutting-edge disinfection tech as a worthy addition to Viscor’s innovative line of LED lighting solutions and light-based sterilization products.
Not to mention a giant leap for vision-centric surgeries, the product director added.
“With the introduction of WavePort, customers will no longer have to choose between continuous disinfection and pure white light,” Stevens said. “Fixtures like this provide stronger disinfection capabilities … while creating a more effective and cleaner environment for healthcare professionals and patients.”
