University of Strathclyde signs licensing deal for its patented HINS-light technology

The new Environment Care Lighting technology range created by Linea Light Group using High Intensity Narrow Spectrum (HINS) light developed and patented by the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow, will enable the Woofer and Rollip appliances from the i-LèD Professional collection to decontaminate surfaces and prevent infection, destroying up to 70-80% of bacteria with continuous use.

By using a light wavelength of 405 mm, the Environment Care Lighting can light and decontaminate rooms, avoiding the need for more expensive Ultraviolet technologies which use frequencies between 240 and 260 nm, require rooms to be empty during disinfection, and can cause degradation effects on photosensitive mater

The action of two light sources, a violet-blue-dominated LED combined with a white power LED, enables the Environment Care Lighting technology to offer two functions at the same time: lighting and protection of human health.

Linea Light Group will be the first European-based company to use the HINS-light patent in combination with lighting appliances, making it available for the Woofer and Rollip collections. Thanks to the exceptional versatility of Linea Light Group products, these new functions can be used in offices and public spaces, hospitals and healthcare settings and residential areas and multi-purpose buildings.

The HINS-light technology was developed in The Robertson Trust Laboratory for Electronic Sterilisation Technologies (ROLEST) at the University of Strathclyde thanks to the work of a team of experts led by Professor Scott MacGregor, Vice-Principal of the University, with Professor John G Anderson, Dr Michelle Maclean and Professor Gerry Woolsey.

Linea Light Group's approach to luminaire design has always been unconventional, and we have a new way of thinking about the product that allows our R&D team the freedom to be creative."

Gianluca Salciccia, Sales Director, Linea Light Group

"Experts in microelectronics, geometric optics, material science, digital information technology, and developers of mechanical prototypes and specialized machine operators speak daily with fashion designers, supermarket managers, executives of large hotel chains and of course professionals such as architects and lighting designers, to create innovative products for technology and application.

"Linea Light Group's products and projects put people in the spotlight. Lighting technology can be an important tool for wellbeing and improving people's quality of life. Linea Light Group's new Environment Care Lighting light range could also add a third dimension of physical wellbeing, with products capable of decontaminating the environments in which people live and work, protecting their health".

Professor John G. Anderson, Research Fellow in Electronic & Electrical Engineering at the University of Strathclyde and a member of the HINS-light technology research team, said: "The Environment Care Lighting represents a unique method of disinfection as it does not employ harmful chemicals or dangerous UV light but instead uses only visible light which is harmless to humans.

"The system works by using selected visible wavelengths which activate light sensitive molecules contained within microbes. This process creates biocidal chemicals which are lethal to bacteria such as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA, and Clostridium difficile, known as C.diff. The process can be operated continuously to achieve whole room disinfection in both the presence or absence of occupants."

Professor Scott MacGregor from the University of Strathclyde said: "HINS-light technology is a great example of how the University of Strathclyde is producing innovation that also benefits society. The technology is harmless to people, so it can be used continuously in different spaces, thus improving disinfection and preventing the spread of infection.

Linea Light Group's new Environment Care Lighting products means that many more people in healthcare, public spaces and in commercial, work and residential environments can benefit from this technology."