Welsh researchers are trying to cut down the time it takes to disinfect an ambulance from 45 minutes to under 20 minutes using a new rapid-gas treatment.
The challenge was to reduce the current time to deep clean an ambulance and get it back on the road, which received an overwhelming response across the United Kingdom.
Swansea University was among the top-ranked bids, which secured funding and support. The university’s solution will see researchers test a new rapid-release gas treatment for ambulances.
The treatment could remove COVID-19 contamination from surfaces and the air in the ambulance, in less than 20 minutes.
If the tests are successful, the new rapid-gas treatment could also be used for other services, including public transport and hospital wards.
Kirsty Williams, Wales’ Education Minister, said, “Our universities and colleges have been at the forefront of the battle against the coronavirus, deploying doctors and nurses to the NHS frontline and joining the international effort to find a cure.”
“As a Government, we are exploring many routes to help combat the coronavirus,” she added. “Working with Welsh and UK partners, this competition shows how innovation can be applied quickly to emergency situations.”
“I’m proud that a Welsh University has got through to the funding stage of the competition, demonstrating how our universities apply their academic expertise to meet the biggest challenges we face,” Williams said.
Ken Skates, Welsh Government’s Minister for Economy, Transport, and North Wales, said, “We are all playing a role in helping to slow the spread of coronavirus, and we’ve seen examples all over Wales of people coming together to face the challenges this virus continues to pose each day.”
“Our businesses and universities are no different in jointly rising to these challenges and I am grateful to everyone involved in this innovative collaboration for the speed in which they were able to respond,” he added.
Principal Investigator of the project Dr. Chedly Tizaoui of Swansea University said, “Swansea University is delighted to be working with the support of the Welsh Ambulance Service, Welsh Government and the Welsh SBRI Centre of Excellence to deliver a potential rapid solution for ambulance cleaning.”
“It is a great opportunity for us to assist front line services and our Health colleagues in the fight against COVID-19,” he added.
Dr. Tizaoui, who is a chemical engineer, will be working on the project along with his colleagues Prof. Dave Worsley and Prof. Peter Holliman. The article originally appeared in News Medical Life Sciences.
