Strauss Retrofits Home Water Purification Devices to Help Hospitals Disinfect Medical Equipment

While Israel’s defense industry has started to manufactures ventilators, other companies are also repurposing their factories and products to aid in the war against the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic. Strauss Water Ltd., a subsidiary of Tel Aviv-listed Strauss Group Ltd., has developed a sterilization and disinfection device for personal medical equipment, based on the technology of its Tami 4 home water filtration device, the company announced Tuesday.

The device was developed in response to a call from the Ministry of Defense, in which experts from a number of areas were asked to assist in the development of technologies for the disinfection of medical personnel equipment, with the goal of reusing biodegradable equipment such as protective masks. The device will disinfect equipment such as stethoscopes, keys, cell phones and more, which should significantly reduce the chances of transmitting the virus to those with whom the medical team is in contact with outside of working hours. "The Tami 4 water system contains a water purification mechanism based on UVC bulbs. The radiation waves are known to be effective in destroying viruses and bacteria, so we decided to use the knowledge we have accumulated in the water filtration industry to develop a sterilization device that will be effective in destroying the coronavirus,” Haim Wilder, the chief technology officer at Strauss Water said in a statement. "We doubled the intensity of the disinfectant by using two UVC wavelengths, and we performed experiments to test the sterilization efficiency for viruses and bacteria, which luckily proved successful."

After the prototype of the device was built at Strauss Water’s laboratory in Or Yehuda, it received the approval of the Israel Standards Institute and is currently undergoing laboratory tests performed in the coronavirus department of Tel Hashomer Hospital to effectively destroy corona bacteria. Following the Israel Standards Institute’s approval, the company decided to manufacture and donate the first 100 devices to Israeli hospitals. Thus far, 40 devices have already been manufactured and donated to hospitals across the country. In the coming weeks, Strauss Water's development team will continue to produce about 60 additional such devices, which will also be donated to a variety of hospitals across the country.