21st September 2020 Wall-mounted technology detects COVID-19 in the air Kontrol Energy Corporation, a Canadian public company, has launched BioCloud – an unobtrusive, wall-mounted technology which detects the presence of COVID-19 in the air. This can trigger an alert system giving real time notifications of the pathogen's presence to facility managers, allowing outbreaks to be contained before they occur. This represents a game changer in the fight against COVID-19, according to Kontrol. Immediate applications include schools, hospitals, long term care facilities and mass transit vehicles such as planes, trains and buses. "There is a critical need for technology that can provide us with assurances that the workplaces, schools, healthcare environments and other spaces we physically occupy are safe and free of infectious disease. Today, we have that in BioCloud," said Paul Ghezzi, Chief Executive Officer of Kontrol. "Our team has been working day and night since the onset of the pandemic to bring this exciting technology to market. It will be an invaluable tool to enhance the existing system of individual testing and contact tracing."
This breakthrough announcement comes after extensive and independent lab testing in tandem with some of Canada's foremost experts in the field, including Dr. David Heinrichs, Professor of Microbiology and Immunology at Western University. "There's no doubt in my mind that this technology can quickly and effectively detect an array of airborne pathogens, including the virus that causes COVID-19. Our results are absolutely conclusive," confirmed Dr. Heinrichs. With COVID-19 cases expected to spike across the country later this year and into the winter season, BioCloud commercialisation and distribution plans are now in high gear. Gary Saunders, VP of Kontrol, confirms that supply chains for the technology are already prepped to deliver tens of thousands of units monthly. "We are thrilled to have our hard work validated in the lab with a fully-tested detection chamber that can be moved quickly to market. We anticipate having the first working units in Canadian schools by November of this year," said Saunders. "We're currently on track to have the required manufacturing capability to meet the production volumes of up to 20,000 BioCloud units per month."
With the breakthrough technology coming on the heels of the Federal Government's $2 billion dollar announcement to help schools reopen and operate safely, BioCloud aims to play a vital role in the education sector and beyond. "When we look at the entire ecosystem of how do we survive this pandemic, having this 'safe space' technology allows us to identify the virus more quickly and allows us to contact trace more quickly," said Ghezzi. "Perhaps we can close down the classroom, as opposed to an entire school." "We can now detect the virus and assess the effectiveness of HVAC systems by continuously sampling air quality in real-time. As a father and Independent School board member, I understand how this technology can help bring some much-needed peace of mind to parents who want to ensure the safety and well-being of their kids and loved ones," added Ghezzi. "BioCloud will not just monitor air quality, it seeks to create the conditions for Canadians to safely and confidently return to their jobs and their schools." Kontrol Energy Corp estimates a $12,000 USD per unit cost for BioCloud based on supply chain components. The detection chamber is fully replaceable after it comes in contact with the SARS-CoV-2 virus and can be disposed of safely and replaced for continuous use.
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