ProVideo Coalition shared the news with its readers last July: Cartoni introduced, then, the UV-C Boxer, a UV disinfection device that harnesses medical-grade technology to sanitize gear in just 5 minutes. We wrote, then, that “the UV-C medical-grade lamps in the Cartoni UV-C Boxer germicidal device has been designed and tested to provide ten times the irradiation needed to sanitize the surface of objects in the device.”
Elisabetta Cartoni, the President and CEO of Cartoni Camera Supports, said at the time that “at Cartoni and in Italy, we were among the first to be hit by this devastating pandemic. During our state-mandated lockdown, we studied a solution to help our industry. The answer was a device that could help production crews and rental houses to stay safe from the virus. Social distancing, masks, and gels meet safety requirements, but on production sets where the equipment is constantly handled multiple times during shooting hours by operators, assistants, grips, etc… we think for production to truly ramp up again, there is a compulsory need to disinfect and decontaminate gear daily or even several times a day.”
Now a Texas-based lab certifies the Cartoni UV-C Boxer’s ability to neutralize microorganisms, including Covid-19, in just 3 minutes. The independent study makes this the first device specially designed for the film industry to be certified to sanitize against microorganisms and Covid-19. The Microchem Laboratory, an FDA compliant laboratory that specializes in testing, has certified that Cartoni’s UV-C Boxer’, equipped with ten medical-grade UV-C (100-280nm) lamps, neutralizes microorganisms, including Covid-19.
According to the lab, the Cartoni UV-C Boxer was found to disinfect 99.985% of microorganisms, including Covid-19, in three minutes – two minutes less than original estimates. It’s box design, and large chamber allows productions and rental houses to evenly sanitize multiple objects at a time, which may unknowingly contaminate film and video sets. The test results make the UV-C Boxer the first device specially designed for the film industry to be proven to disinfect.
The UV-C Boxer was tested with 64 plates of antibiotic-resistant bacteria and other microorganisms, including Covid-19. Each was placed on different materials such as glass, composite, and metal to simulate broadcast and film equipment. Additionally, each microorganism was tested at five different positions within the device’ chamber to ensure that the UV-C Boxer could effectively neutralize them.
“We are thrilled to be able to provide a certified solution to disinfect props, gear, and devices as the world and our industry look to get back to work – safely,” says Elisabetta Cartoni. She adds, “Although designed for the production community, we can see how the Boxer could have other applications in other industries.”
The newly designed Cartoni UV-C Boxer has a large sliding boxlike container for safe loading and sanitization of multiple pieces of gear at the same time. Like all UV light, exposure to UV-C rays can be dangerous to humans, so Cartoni designed the Boxer with a safety lock system to avoid accidental UV-C irradiation. If the door to the Boxer chamber is not safely locked, the UV-C lamps will not activate.
The UV-C Boxer is safe if properly used, effective, and fast. Operational indoors and outdoors, it’s ideal for carrying to locations. Equipped with wheels with positive locks, it can easily be moved around on flat surfaces or studios.
The Cartoni UV-C Boxer is the only medical-grade UV-C device designed for film and video equipment. The UV-C medical-grade lamps are tested to provide ten times the irradiation needed to sanitize the surface of objects in the device and the reflective walls provide an even distribution of the radiation on the entire surface of the item to be disinfected.
The power of a reflected beam is 40% of the original beam, exceeding the needed germicidal effect by five times. Each lamp has a life of 6,000 hours and has no ozone release. The typical length of time needed to disinfect and sanitize a set of equipment, including a camera, two lenses, two batteries, microphone, etc. is just three minutes. For effective sanitization, the objects must be well arranged and spaced in the Boxer chamber to ensure no overlapping.
For more information, contact cartoni@cartoni.com. Customers located in the United States can contact Manios Digital for a demo at info@maniosdigital.com.