BRISTOL, R.I. (WPRI) — A technology that uses a special kind of light to fight airborne illnesses is being tested in Bristol.

Roger Williams University is partnering with the technology firm “Lit Thinking” to study the effects of the company’s Far-UVC Visium technology in the classroom.

The company says Far-UVC is a wave-length of light that is safe for humans but “continuously deactivates pathogens” and stops the spread of viruses like the flu and COVID-19.

According to Dr. Jacob Bueno de Mesquita, a professor of public health at Roger Williams, using light to fight viruses isn’t a completely novel concept.

“Germicidal UV is a really old technology that we’ve been using for 100 years to inactivate viruses and bacteria in the air,” he explained. “It’s something that we could be using more of.”

The UV technology has been installed in the ceiling of one classroom at Roger Williams and in the university’s health services center. Data will be collected from the devices to test the effectiveness of the technology.

“This will tell us how effective the technology is at mitigating viruses … and also how remarkably safe the technology is,” Bueno de Mesquita added.

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