The Photon UVC handheld device

The authors of a University of Auckland study investigating the safety of UVC light to treat microbial keratitis said evidence of DNA damage was limited to the superficial epithelium.

The study, led by Dr Sanjay Marasini and overseen by Dr Simon Dean and Professor Jennifer Craig, measured levels of cyclobutane pyrimidine dimers (CPDs), which are indicative of UVC-mediated DNA damage, after applying therapeutic doses of UVC for 5, 10, 15, 30 and 60-minute intervals to porcine eyes. The proportion of CPDs did not differ across UVC doses and spared deeper eye tissues, where limbal cells reside, the team reported.

Dr Dean’s award-winning Photon UVC handheld device, designed to destroy keratitis-causing microbes within 10 seconds, was launched in the UK veterinary market last year and is in the process of being tested for the human market.