Walrus: A COVID-19 Prevention Device

As of today, there is no single effective therapeutic solution for the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Moreover, the FDA recognizes that there is a shortage in Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), such as surgical masks, shields, and isolation gowns, and that the demand may outmatch the supply available to the health sector and general citizens during the pandemic. Moreover, there is a number of problems associated with the available PPE when it comes to effectiveness, sustainability, and convenience.

We propose a wearable electronic device that can be worn to prevent airborne and droplet-borne viruses, including SARS-CoV2, from entering one or more of the pathways to the respiratory tract using Radio Frequency energy. 

Our improved safety and effectiveness features in addition to cost and convenience are expected to be of global interest. We aim that the proposed technology to be a mainstream protective device during the current pandemic and future pandemics.

There is a shortage in Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), such as surgical masks, shields, and isolation gowns, and that the demand may outmatch the supply available to the health sector and general citizens during the pandemic. In fact, the FDA has issued Emergency Use Authorizations for systems that can decontaminate certain types of N95 masks for reuse by health care staff. Moreover, there is a number of problems associated with most of these Personal Protective Equipment when it comes to effectiveness, sustainability, and convenience.

The competitive advantage of our product is that it will deliver improved safety and effectiveness in the form of personal, non-disposable device at a lower manufactured cost compared with existing disposable PPE solutions. We aim that the proposed technology to be a mainstream protective device during the current pandemic and future pandemics.

We propose a wearable electronic device that can be worn to prevent airborne and droplet-borne viruses, including SARS-CoV2, from entering one or more of the pathways to the respiratory tract. The device comprises a microcontroller, electromagnetic wave generator and frequency synthesizer, and miniaturized antenna arrays. The RF energy provided by the generator and arrays would fluctuate back and forth between the arrays to energize the particles and generate the heat and kinetic energy required to destroy the virus particles. The device aims at destroying virus particles prior to or upon entry into the nasal or oral cavities, and/or disrupting viral-nasal or viral-airway mucosal interactions that in turn reduce cellular entry, thereby reducing viral infection. The technology will be confined in a wearable device which may take different sizes and shapes like tubes and enclosures; they can also be modular to be integrated within partial or full masks or shields.

Based on the evolving findings and uncertainty about how and when the current pandemic will be over, we believe that a more effective and practical preventive solution is of paramount importance. 

We aim that this device will have a global impact in preventing the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 and offer a protective solution with an improved effectiveness, sustainability, and convenience for people and health workers worldwide. The technology will be confined in a personal, wearable device which may take different sizes and shapes like tubes and enclosures; they can also be modular to be integrated within partial or full masks or shields.

The problem: In addition to the shortage in PPE available to the public and health sector personnel, number of problems associated with the available PPE in terms of effectiveness, sustainability, and convenience.

The solution: We propose a wearable electronic device that can be worn to prevent airborne and droplet-borne viruses, including SARS-CoV2, from entering the respiratory tract using Radio Frequency energy.  

Relationship to the Challenge: The improved safety effectiveness features in addition to convenience and reduced cost are aligned with the goals of the Health Security and Pandemics Challenge in finding improved solutions for prevention, and and protecting health workers.

The device consists of solid-state RF power oscillator and frequency synthesizer, a microcontroller system, and miniaturized phased antenna/rectenna arrays. The arrays alternate between acting as a transmitter or a receiver. Therefore, the RF energy provided by the oscillator and rectenna arrays would propagate back and forth between the arrays to energize the particles and generate the heat and kinetic energy required to destroy the virus. The device aims at destroying virus particles prior to or upon entry into the nasal or oral cavities, and/or disrupting viral-nasal or viral-airway mucosal interactions that in turn reduce viral cellular entry, thereby reducing viral infection.

Another innovation utilized in the proposed device is the extension of battery life. The rectenna arrays are connected to a battery charging circuit and thus the battery is charged during the reception cycles since one array operates as a receiver the opposite array acts as a transmitter and vice versa.

To the best of the proposer’s knowledge, no preventive solution based on a wearable device utilizing RF technology exists in the market.  

It has been shown in the literature that spherical viruses are known to resonate in the confined-acoustic dipolar mode when exposed to electromagnetic waves. Other studies have shown that such structure-resonant energy transfer effect from electromagnetic waves to the virus particles can be efficient at inactivating airborne viruses when exposed to safe amounts of microwave power. Other studies and published patents have demonstrated the effectiveness of RF electromagnetic waves at viral inactivation, disinfection, and sanitization.

The innovation of the proposed project lies in utilizing resonant electromagnetic waves relative to the size of the droplet/virus particle provided by an RF energy power oscillator and propagated by antenna/rectenna arrays confined in a compact wearable electronic device. The RF energy provided by the oscillator and arrays would fluctuate back and forth between the arrays to energize the particles and generate the heat and kinetic energy required to destroy the virus. The device aims at destroying virus particles prior to or upon entry into the nasal or oral cavities, and/or disrupting viral-nasal or viral-airway mucosal interactions that in turn reduce viral cellular entry, thereby reducing viral infection. The aim is to produce a miniaturized, personal, wearable device that is more effective than conventional Personal Protective Equipment available in the market today.

It has been shown in the literature that spherical viruses are known to resonate in the confined-acoustic dipolar mode when exposed to electromagnetic waves. Other studies have shown that such structure-resonant energy transfer effect from electromagnetic waves to the virus particles can be efficient at inactivating airborne viruses when exposed to safe amounts of microwave power.

Other studies and published patents have demonstrated the effectiveness of RF electromagnetic waves at viral inactivation, disinfection, and sanitization. More recently, and in response to the current pandemic, the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) scientists initiated a collaborative effort with academia and the industry to investigate the possibility of using light and electromagnetic radiation to sanitize and decontaminate areas exposed to the coronavirus.

[1] C. Sun, Y. Tsai, C. Kao, H. Wang, C. Lo and Y. Chen, Structure resonance energy transfer from EM wave to rod-like virus, 2016 41st International Conference on Infrared, Millimeter, and Terahertz waves (IRMMW-THz), Copenhagen, 2016, pp. 1-2.

[2] S.-C. Yang, H.-C. Lin, T.-M. Liu, J.-T. Lu, W.-T. Hung, Y.-R. Huang, Efficient Structure Resonance Energy Transfer from Microwaves to Confined Acoustic Vibrations in Viruses", Scientific Reports, vol. 5, pp. 18030, 2015.

[3] A focusing reflectarray and its applicationin microwave virus sanitizerWan-Ting Hung1, Jen-Jung Tung1, and Shih-Yuan Chen, Asia-Pacific Radio Science conference, 2014

[4] Patent: Disinfection, destruction of neoplastic growth, and sterilization by differential absorption of electromagnetic energy, US7354433B2.

[5] Patent: Heat treatment for viral inactivation, AU3638895A.
[6] https://www.wpafb.af.mil/News/Article-Display/Article/2162707/afrl-scientists-investigate-can-microwaves-reduce-viability-of-airborne-coronav/

As mentioned above, there is no single effective therapeutic solution for the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Moreover, the FDA recognizes that there is a shortage in Personal Protective Equipment and that the demand may outmatch the supply available to the health sector and general citizens during the pandemic. In fact, the FDA has issued Emergency Use Authorizations for systems that can decontaminate certain types of N95 masks for reuse by health care staff. Moreover, there is a number of problems associated with most of these Personal Protective Equipment when it comes to effectiveness, sustainability, and convenience.

Based on the evolving findings and uncertainty about how and when the current pandemic will be over, we believe that researching the feasibility and potentials of this innovative electronic device would be valuable.

The proposed device should be under demand as long as the pandemic exists. However, it applies to all airborne and droplet-borne viruses if new ones emerge in the future. In addition to the main objective of the device which is destroying virus particles prior to or upon entry into the nasal or oral cavities, and/or disrupting viral-nasal or viral-airway mucosal interactions that in turn reduce viral cellular entry, it has other potential therapeutic applications related to health and wellbeing. 

The aim is to deliver a novel technology to be used in preventing airborne and droplet-borne viruses from entering the respiratory tract. The competitive advantage of our product is that it will deliver improved safety and effectiveness at a lower manufactured cost compared with existing disposable PPE solutions since it is a personal, non-disposable device. Our competitive advantage is achieved by utilizing RF technology integrated within a wearable electronic device. 

The device is still in the concept phase. The number of people the proposed solution is currently zero. 

We aim that the proposed technology to be a mainstream protective device during the current pandemic and future pandemics. We also hope that after one year the device will be in its initial commercialization stages, it will be hopefully serving around 100,000, and in 5 years it serves 100-500 millions.

Basic and applied research stages have been completed. In the next 12 months, the effort will be focused on creating the apparatus and experimentally studying the size and volume of the device structure, and the operational frequency and RF power required for effective destruction of the virus. Once the effective operational frequency and RF power are found, Specific Absorption Rate (SAR) analysis will be conducted to determine the maximum-safe power that can be used to ensure that the electromagnetic exposure does not exceed FCC’s requirement. 

Finding the right frequency and effective amount of RF power to destroy the virus envelop is the ultimate goal of this milestone. The pseudovirus assays will be examined before and after exposure in a BSL-2 lab setting. After this phase we would move to device prototyping and miniaturization, and virology lab testing and clinical trials.

We aim that the proposed technology to be a mainstream protective device during the current pandemic and future pandemics. We also hope that after one year the device will be in its initial commercialization stages, and in 5 years we are hoping that the device becomes mainstream and serves billions of people.

The main challenge is funding which is needed to continue with proof of concept experimental work.

Below are the key technical challenges

• An extensive research and experimental work is required to numerically and experimentally determining the size and volume of the device structure, the resonant/effective frequency(ies), and operational RF power required for effective destruction of the virus. The size and shape of the device are crucial factors when it comes to determine the duration of RF exposure the virus particles need to be destroyed while in transit.
• Specific Absorption Rate (SAR) analysis have to be conducted to determine the maximum-safe power that can be used and to ensure that the electromagnetic exposure does not exceed FCC’s requirement. If SAR is high, different antenna array designs and placements have to be tested which may pose impedance matching issues.
• A moisture source might be needed if more heat is needed from the combination of heat and kinetic energy delivered by the RF system. 
• In configurations where more heat is needed then the time to heat up the inhaled air in extremely cold weathers (i.e.: -40C to 60C) may become an issue (i.e.: more power would be needed which may increase the electromagnetic power deposition in human tissues). 
• Although we aim at extending the battery life due to self-charging during the reception cycle of the rectenna arrays, further study is needed once the effective RF power is determined.
• Miniaturization and packaging without compromising performance and effectiveness.
• Dealing with infectious viruses.
• Ergonomics/comfort factors.

1- We have started seeking funds recently (government and non-government organizations) in order to support our efforts for proof of concept experimental work.

2- We have a detailed plan for conducting the required extensive research and experimental work. We plan to use the state of the art tools, which are available in our lab, to model, fabricate and test our own designs in our fully equipped laboratory.  
3- Studies involving SARS-CoV-2 are hindered by the danger of producing and handling live coronavirus. A safer alternative to using live coronavirus is to use recombinant lentivirus pseudotyped with one of the proteins of coronavirus. The luciferase reporter included in the pseudotyped spikes allows for the monitoring of viral entry into host cells.  We plan to conduct the study on pseudoviruses provided by a commercial supplier.
4- A moisture source might be needed if more heat is needed from the combination of heat and kinetic energy delivered by the RF system. Condensing the exhaled air is one venue that we would like to investigate.
5- To deal with ergonomics and comfort factors, we will investigate different shapes and sizes beside tubes (shown in the pitch video) like for example a small enclosure or structures that surround the nose and/or mouth; the device can also be modular to be integrated within partial or full masks or shields. 

NA

Two people are working currently on this project. One person on the design and engineering side and one person on the biology/virology side.

Haider Raad, who currently serves as the president and CEO of the proposing company, will be the main person undertaking the research and development effort. Haider also serves as director of the Engineering Physics program and the Wearable Electronics Research Center (XWERC) at Xavier University in Cincinnati, Ohio, USA. Haider received the Ph.D. and M.S. degrees in RF Systems Engineering from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, and the M.S. degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering from New York Institute of Technology.

Haider has been involved in wearable technology and RF systems since 2008 in both academia and the industry. In the industry, he was hired as a consultant in several projects related to wearable technology, IoT and RF and wireless systems. He has also taken many projects from concept to design to a pre-production prototype. In academia, he has published five books in the fields of Wearable Technology, Telemedicine, and Wireless Systems. He has also published over a hundred peer reviewed journal and conference papers on research fields in these fields

Justin Link, has expertise in the area of Biophysics, specifically Molecular Biophysics. He earned his Ph.D. in physics from The Ohio State University.  His primary research involves protein engineering coupled with the structure/function analysis which can serve the proposal in a variety of ways including both the biological and physical nuances that arise in the proposed project. His role will be providing biological expertise and overseeing the biology/virology side of the pseudovirus experiments.

The team: Haider Raad and Justin Link are also faculty members at Xavier University in Cincinnati, Ohio, USA where they teach and conduct research in the subject matter. They both have strong research collaborations with University of California, Davis, and the University of Paris.

There is already a sizeable market for Personal Protective Equipment. According to a recent study, the global personal protective equipment market size was estimated at USD 55.60 billion in 2019 and is expected to reach USD 59.50 billion in 2020. Our improved safety and effectiveness features in addition to cost and convenience are expected to be of global interest, not only the health sector. If successful and practical, we aim that the proposed technology to be a mainstream protective device during the current pandemic and future pandemics. If successful, we anticipate that we would capture no less than 35% of the PPE market. United Scholars LLC estimates sales and/or licensing revenues of $5,000,000 during the first 10 years of commercialization.

We have started seeking funds recently (government and non-government organizations) in order to support our efforts for proof of concept experimental work. We are open to equity as well.

We are applying to solve to be considered for a funding opportunity. We also would like to join the MIT network and receive support from Solve team and Members, and eventually build meaningful partnerships to accelerate the product realization, and validate its impact and business model.

Mentoring and advising in the area of product development, strategic planning and business model validation.

Establishing connections to investors and grantors and acquire help in fundraising strategies.

MIT faculty or initiatives, or Solve Members.

The improved safety and effectiveness features in addition to cost and convenience of the proposed device are expected to help preventing COVID-19 globally (the general public and health care workers). We aim that the proposed technology to be a mainstream protective device during the current pandemic and future pandemics. 

The prize will be used to support our efforts for proof of concept  and necessary experimental work.