‘Germ Genie’ lamp removes bacteria from keyboards
Wednesday, October 13th, 2010
A British entrepreneur has developed the ‘Germ Genie’, a UV light which eliminates killer bacteria causing Flu, MRSA and E.Coli from computer keyboards.
Keyboards have been proved to be one of the dirtiest objects in the modern home harbouring up to five times more germs than a toilet seat.
British inventor Duncan Louttit devised the ‘Germ Genie’ lamp which can kill 99 per cent of bacteria on a keyboard and virtually eradicate ‘qwerty tummy’.
The device senses when finger movements cease and then blasts UV light onto the keyboard at the germ-killing wavelength of 254 nanometers.
Researchers at the University of Hertfordshire tested the effects on E.Coli, Staphylococcus Aureus, which causes MRSA and Bacillus Subtillis.
They found that 99 per cent of bacteria from the centre of the keyboard were sanitised within a minute and that the whole keyboard was clear after two minutes.
Inventor Duncan Louttit, 58, came up with the idea after taking his cat to the vet and founded a business with his son James, 31.
James Louttit, Managing Director of Falcon Innovations,said: ”My father came up with the idea when he took Gizmo to the vets with a case of conjunctivitis.
”He watched as the vet examined Gizmo’s eye, then typed into the computer and then touched the cat again.
”Vets, doctors and nurses wash their hand between patients, but they don’t clean their keyboards and infections can be passed between patients.
”The Germ Genie could be used in hospitals, clinics, vets’ surgeries and offices to prevent the spread of disease.”
The Germ Genie is a UV light which hangs over keyboards and is primarily designed to be used on public computers, at internet cafes, libraries and universities.
The lamp senses when a computer user has stopped typing and then blasts the entire keyboard with rays of UV light – killing harmful bacteria.
When the next computer user approaches the clean keyboard the lamp automatically turns off until it is next required.
A study by the University Hospital in Giessen, Germany, in 2004 showed that the computer keyboard and mouse carried the most bacteria in a surgical ICU.
In 2008 a study showed that computer keyboards in a London office carried five times more bacteria than toilet seats.
Diseases caused by keyboard use have been nicknamed ‘qwerty tummy’ after the first six letters on a keyboard.
Richard Smith, Director of Biodet who tested the Germ Genie at the University of Hertfordshire, said that the device had performed well in tests.
He said: ”The science of UV light being anti-microbial is well established, but the Germ Genie had not been tested thoroughly to show that it worked on computer keyboards.”
Adrian Hearn
Twitter: @swns
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