Employees of the Silesian University of Technology have developed a compact chamber for sterilization of HEPA polymer filters. As a result, the filters currently used in protective masks used by medical personnel in hospitals can be used many times and less frequently must be changed with new ones.

The device uses ultraviolet UV radiation. Exposure to radiation in the wavelength range from 100 to 280 nm (UVC band) allows for effective inactivation of the pathogen causing severe respiratory failure (SARS-CoV and MERS-CoV). Considering the similarity of previous coronavirus cells with SARS-CoV-2 virus reported in the research, it can be assumed that UVC radiation is also effective in deactivating SARS-CoV-2 virus, as in the case of SARS-CoV and MERS-CoV.

The sterilization chamber was transferred to the Observation and Infectious and Hepatology Department of Specialist Hospital No. 1 in Bytom, where it will be tested.