A joint team from Tokyo Institute of Technology, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, and Chiba University uses ions and electric fields to effectively collect and block infection-causing droplets and aerosols without blocking the passage of light or sound. We have developed a device that can do this.
This research began with a student-led idea from the ``Post-Corona Society Consortium'' established by a four-university alliance consisting of Tokyo Institute of Technology, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Hitotsubashi University, and Tokyo University of Foreign Studies.Conventional partitions made of acrylic boards and other materials aimed at preventing droplet infection are being removed after the new coronavirus became a Category 5 infection, as they reflect sound and light and impede communication.However, this does not mean that infection control measures are no longer necessary.Therefore, as a measure against droplet infection that does not impede communication, air purifiers are being used that ``collect foreign objects by using ions, which are charged atoms or atomic groups, and the electric field that affects the charge of charged substances.'' By applying this mechanism, we came up with a device that collects droplets and aerosols.
In order to realize this idea, students mainly from Tokyo Institute of Technology created a device, and researchers mainly from Tokyo Medical and Dental University conducted demonstration experiments.As a result, it was confirmed that the developed device allows sound and light to pass through to the same extent as air, while charging droplets and aerosol with ions and drawing them to the collection electrode using an electric field.It has been shown that when the device is installed in a hospital room with a patient infected with the new coronavirus, it can capture aerosols containing the coronavirus and reduce the amount of virus in the air to a level considered to be low for infection.
This device, which has the characteristic of less obstructing communication than existing partitions, is a new infection prevention measure that integrates into our daily lives, and is an effective means to prevent the spread of the ongoing novel coronavirus infection and unknown infectious diseases. It is expected that
Paper information:[Scientific Reports] Applying negative ions and an electric field to countermeasure droplets/aerosol transmission without hindering communication
