Nation-wide, healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) infect one in every 25 hospital patients, account for more than 100,000 deaths and increase medical costs by around $96-147B, each year. Ultraviolet-C (UV-C) antimicrobial devices are shown to reduce the incidence of many of these HAIs by 35% or more, through the deactivation of the pathogen’s DNA chain following irradiation with a wavelength of ~254 nm. This irradiation does not kill the cells, per se but effectively prevents the cells from multiplying. Clinical case reductions of 30-70% in Clostridium difficile (C. diff.) have been reported with similar results for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), and others. The methodology works, but, the adoption of UV-C technology by the healthcare industry has been sporadic. This is largely due to the lack of definitive knowledge and uniform performance standards or measures for efficacy to help healthcare managers make informed, credible investment decisions. The leveling of the playing field with scientifically certifiable data of the efficacy of antimicrobial devices will enhance acceptance by the healthcare industry and public, at large, as well as facilitate science-based decision making.
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has engaged with the International Ultra Violet Association (IUVA) and its member companies and affiliates to explore ways to develop needed standards, determine appropriate testing protocols, and transfer the technology to help to reduce these inharmonious market conditions. Collaborative efforts are underway to develop science-based answers to the healthcare industry’s questions surrounding standards and measures of device disinfection efficacy, as well as reliability, operations and durability. These issues were recently discussed at the IUVA 2018 America’s Conference in Redondo Beach, CA in several panel sessions. A major output of the sessions was the formation of a formal IUVA Working Group for the development of antimicrobial standards and initiatives for the healthcare industry. The goal of this working group is to provide global guidance, with specific programs and deliverables, on the use of UV technologies and standards to combat HAIs and to further the stated aims of the IUVA on its outreach to the healthcare industry. This paper reviews the strong collaboration between NIST and its industry partners pursuing the development of standards, guidelines and guidance documents related to healthcare applications that include standard methods for validating performance of UV devices and test guidelines for efficacy measurements. In addition, an overview of the issues, problems, and a summary of the needs confronting future growth and success of the UV industry in the Nation’s healthcare application space is provided.
At present, broadband radiometric LED measurements with uniform and low-uncertainty results are not available.
Currently, either complicated and expensive spectral radiometric measurements or broadband photometric LED
measurements are used. The broadband photometric measurements are based on the CIE standardized V(λ) function,
which cannot be used in the UV range and leads to large errors when blue or red LEDs are measured in its wings, where
the realization is always poor. Reference irradiance meters with spectrally constant response and high-intensity LED
irradiance sources were developed here to implement the previously suggested broadband radiometric LED measurement
procedure [1, 2]. Using a detector with spectrally constant response, the broadband radiometric quantities of any LEDs or
LED groups can be simply measured with low uncertainty without using any source standard. The spectral flatness of
filtered-Si detectors and low-noise pyroelectric radiometers are compared. Examples are given for integrated irradiance
measurement of UV and blue LED sources using the here introduced reference (standard) pyroelectric irradiance meters.
For validation, the broadband measured integrated irradiance of several LED-365 sources were compared with the
spectrally determined integrated irradiance derived from an FEL spectral irradiance lamp-standard. Integrated
responsivity transfer from the reference irradiance meter to transfer standard and field UV irradiance meters is discussed.
The five axis goniospectrometer at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) measures the spectral reflectance of colored samples over a wide range of illumination and viewing angles. This capability is important for the colorimetric characterization of complex materials, such as gonioapparent coatings or retroreflective surfaces. To improve the efficiency of the goniometer, a broad-band source with a matrix-based stray-light corrected CCD based spectrometer was implemented. This new configuration offers a significant reduction in the measurement time allowing for the complete characterization of the goniodistribution of complex materials. Shorter measurement time reduces the load on the precise mechanical assembly, to ensure high angular accuracy over time. Special care was taken to extend the effective dynamic range of measured intensities in the multichannel detection mode to the values of 106 - 107 needed for the characterization of colored samples. The expanded uncertainty of the measured Bidirectional Reflectance Distribution Function (BRDF) for this new setup is about 0.5 % (k = 2) which is comparable to the uncertainty levels of the instrument operating with monochromatic illumination and a silicon photodiode. To validate the new system configuration, the measured BRDF or spectral reflectance factors (R) of test samples were compared with different instruments and we found an agreement of about 0.5 %.
Various new light-emitting diodes (LEDs) including white LEDs are being actively developed for solid-state lighting and many other applications, and there are great needs for accurate measurement of various optical quantities of LEDs. Traditional lamp standards do not suffice for specific measurement needs for LEDs. The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has recently established calibration services for photometric quantities (luminous intensity and luminous flux) of LEDs, but the measurement needs are expanding. This paper covers the current capabilities and services NIST provides for calibration of LEDs and discusses the future needs for optical metrology of LEDs. Work is just completed at NIST to provide official color calibrations of LEDs (chromaticity coordinates, peak wavelength, correlated color temperature, etc.). Another urgent need addressed is radiometric calibration of LEDs, particularly the total radiant flux (watt) of ultraviolet (UV) LEDs used to excite phosphors for white LEDs. Also, as spectroradiometers coupled with an integrating sphere are increasingly used total spectral radiant flux standards from NIST are in urgent demand. Presented is the scope of NIST plans to realize these new radiometric calibration capabilities for LEDs in the near future.
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