Ken Carr’s Viral Inactivation System patent, issued on August 16, 2022, applies a high temperature to blood drawn directly from a patient for a short duration of time, destroying HIV, Ebola, and other blood-borne viruses without damaging the blood. The key is short microwave exposure times using microwave heating and radiometric temperature control.
The system employs a series of disposable in-line cartridges with radiometric sensing located at the point where energy is applied. Linked together by a plastic manifold, each T-shaped cartridge is inserted into a separate three-inch-square microwave heating chamber with a transducer and a radiometer.
At a rate of 200 milliliters per minute, blood flows through an IV tube into the first cartridge, which uniformly warms the blood from the body’s normal temperature of 37˚C to the target temperature for killing viruses, 75˚C. The blood then flows through a short length of IV tubing to a second cartridge in a “dwell chamber,” which maintains the target temperature of 75° to 80°C for 0.006 seconds, just long enough to kill viruses without damaging blood. Next, the blood flows through the third cartridge in a “rapid cooling” chamber, which quickly chills the blood to 49˚C and continues to cool it to less than 30˚C. Finally, the blood passes through the cartridge in the fourth chamber, which reheats the blood to 37˚C before sending the virus-free blood back into the patient.
Applied ThermoLogic’s team of experienced microwave engineers is available to provide technical support to medical companies, medical facilities, and microwave companies interested in developing this product.