Danish disinfection robots fight coronavirus in China hospitals

Self-driving Danish disinfection robots are now being shipped to hospitals in China to help combat the coronavirus after medical supplies company Sunay Healthcare Supply signed an agreement with Danish company UVD Robots last month. The first robots shipped in late February, with many more to be shipped via air for deployment in the fight against the coronavirus.

Using ultraviolet light, the robot can disinfect and kill viruses and bacteria autonomously, effectively limiting the spread of coronavirus without exposing front-line hospital staff to the risk of infection.

Through Sunay’s partners in China, the robots will be deployed in all Chinese provinces. “With this agreement, more than 2,000 hospitals will now have the opportunity to ensure effective disinfection, protecting both their patients and staff,” said Su Yan, CEO of Sunay Healthcare Supply, a medical equipment supplier to the Chinese market.

Now sold in more than 40 countries, UVD Robots is already delivering its self-driving disinfection robots to hospitals in other parts of Asia in addition to healthcare markets in Europe and the United States. The use of autonomous robots increases the safety of hospital staff, patients and visitors by reducing the risk of contact with bacteria, viruses and other harmful microorganisms. The concentrated UV-C light emitted by the robots as they drive has a germicidal effect that removes virtually all airborne viruses and bacteria on the surfaces of a room. The technology and results helped the UVD robot win the robotics industry’s “Oscar” – IERA Award in 2019.

“We found the UVD robot to be superior compared to other technologies and are pleased to – in a very short amount of time – enter into a reseller agreement with exclusive rights to supply the UVD robots in China,” said Su Yan.

UVD Robots CEO, Per Juul Nielsen, said he was pleased to be helping combat the spread of the virus in China through the company’s solution: “In a severe crisis like this where the world health is threatened, our innovative technology really proves its worth." 

UVD Robots is a subsidiary of Blue Ocean Robotics, which develops a wide range of service robots. 

The development of the UVD robot started in 2014, when a group of Danish hospitals demanded a far more effective way of reducing infection rates in hospitals. The robot was the result of a collaboration between bacteriologists, virologists and hospital staff, as well as robot developers, designers, engineers, investors and business people from Blue Ocean Robotics.

Claus Risager, CEO of Blue Ocean Robotics and Chairman of the Board of UVD Robots, has called the deployment of the technology a tremendous source of satisfaction for employees, management and company owners.  “We are now helping solve one of the biggest problems of our time, preventing the spread of bacteria and viruses with a robot that saves lives in hospitals every day.”

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