Good Clean Fun: Modernizing Toy Sanitation

Abstract

Rapid spread of viral infections via contaminated surfaces is pervasive in crowded indoor places such as schools, day care centers, nursing homes, and hospitals [1]. Children under five suffer twice as many illnesses a year as adults[1, 2], and children in daycare centers have a higher incidence of infection than those cared for at home [3]. Toys have been identified as a significant category of surfaces that spread contamination [4]. This project improves classroom safety through a device that builds on existing technologies that use far ultraviolet (UV) light at 222 nm to sanitize toys. Existing solutions are too time intensive and do not sanitize to the appropriate level. This device is novel due to its focus on complete coverage of surfaces and minimization of required user interaction time.