SBIR Phase I: Antiviral Electromagnetic Pulses (COVID-19)

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is an energetically-based device to eliminate pathogens safely.  The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has shown the importance of sanitizing and protecting against viral pathogens known and unknown. The proposed approach of using energy for disruption of viral particles has high potential for sanitization.  This electromagnetic approach can penetrate walls, thereby offering a method to sanitize hard-to-access building systems, such as HVAC air ducts and air flow systems. 

This SBIR Phase I project proposes that an electromagnetic pulse (EMP) device can be used as an antiviral and antibacterial mechanism.   This project proposes to develop the world's first software-defined electromagnetic pulse into a wireless, "safe for humans" anti-bacterial and anti-viral device.  This project will explore the use of varying electromagnetic fields to compromise the viral capsid and inactivate the virus.  The project will identify the frequencies effective for pathogen inactivation and then will develop a device to deliver those frequencies. 

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.