The American Society of Mechanical Engineers has named Houston-based Medistar Corporation 2020 recipient of the Emerging Technology Award for Invention of Integrated Antivirus Air Filter Systems to Stop the Spread of COVID-19 Indoors

HOUSTON – (BUSINESS WIRE) – The American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) recognized Medistar Corporation as one of five winners of the 2020 Emerging Technology Award for inventing the Biodefense Indoor Air Protection System ™ for integrated virus protection (IVP Air). IVP Air is a division of Houston-based Medistar Corp.

IVP’s new Biodefense indoor air protection system has been proven to destroy SARS-CoV-2 (99.999%), anthrax spores (99.98%) and other airborne pathogens in one go. The IVP-HVAC filter can be built into existing ventilation systems for private households or commercial purposes. The United States Center for Disease Control reports that the airborne virus can travel up to 18 to 20 feet and hover in the air as a contagious virus for over 18 hours. Research also shows that circulating the cleanest air in a room helps reduce the spread of COVID-19.

“Our entire IVP team is delighted that we have developed a medical technology that will fight the coronavirus pandemic through a source as reputable and reliable as ASME,” said Dr. Garrett Peel, founding partner of IVP. “The effective use of science and technology will take us through and out of this public health crisis. This Monzer Hourani invention enables people of all ages to breathe safely knowing that it will reduce the spread of COVID-19 in the air. Our systems are installed in performance centers, schools, office buildings, hospitals, restaurants, fitness studios, convention centers, hotels and places of worship. ”

The IVP system was designed by IVP founder and inventor Monzer Hourani, who has a background in physics, science and engineering. Hourani is also the founder and CEO of Medistar Corp. He developed the advanced biodefense system in collaboration with Dr. Garrett Peel, co-founder of IVP; Dr. Zhifeng Ren, director of the Texas Superconductivity Center at the University of Houston; and other scientists at UTMB Galveston National Lab and the University of Texas A&M Engineering and Experiment Station.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has derailed the best plans for 2020, but the response from engineers has been remarkable,” commented Tom Costabile, Executive Director and CEO of ASME. “The editors of Mechanical Engineering magazine are putting these technologists in the spotlight as we all at ASME engineers everywhere celebrate who have put their heads and hearts into serving real human needs this year.”

Mechanical Engineering is ASME’s award-winning flagship. The other four recipients of the 2020 Emerging Technology Award are:

• The entry kiosk from Advanced Kiosks measures the temperatures and checks the mask conformity before people can enter a building.

• Prusa Research’s fully open source design for a face shield that can be quickly 3D printed and delivered to frontline workers.

• Starship Technologies’ autonomous robot delivers meals, groceries and other parcels within a five-kilometer radius. and,

• The autonomous disinfection robot system from UVD Robots is equipped with UV-C light to remove 99.9 percent of all microbes from the surfaces of a room.

In recent years, the Emerging Technology Awards recognized innovations in five technical areas. However, in assessing the fourth annual awards program, the editors of Mechanical Engineering magazine found that the standout technologies all supported society during COVID-19.

“At a time when there is a considerable amount of misinformation about COVID-19, ASME is a very trustworthy and highly regarded source,” added Dr. Peel added. “Not only is ASME celebrating the innovation that drives society through a pandemic, but this organization is conducting in-depth research and review that will reduce noise and help our fellow Americans move much closer to the normalcy we all long for come.”

Further information on the IVP system and other successful technologies can be found at https://www.asme.org/topics-resources/content/engineers-in-action-during-covid-19. Watch a video honoring the winners at https://www.asme.org/topics-resources/content/video-2020-emerging-technology-awards. Members of society can read more about the innovations in the December 2020 / January 2021 edition.

Information on integrated virus protection (IVP)

Integrated Viral Protection (IVP) is a technology solutions company specializing in the development of air protection systems for the biological defense of indoor spaces. Data from peer-reviewed scientific publications shows that airborne transmission of the SARS-CoV-2 virus holds great promise in protecting people from the dangerous, life-threatening pathogen. IVP has entered into a public-private partnership with a team of scientists, engineers and virologists to jointly develop a promising indoor biological air defense system that combats COVID-19 in commercial, transportation, residential and residential environments.

The patent pending BIODEFENSE INDOOR AIR PROTECTION SYSTEM ™ complies with the FDA guidelines for the enforcement of sterilizers, disinfection devices and air purifiers during coronavirus disease – 2019 (COVID-19) 21 CFR 880.5045 medical air filter and 21 CFR 880.6500 medical UV air purifier | Class II device allowed for sale by the FDA during coronavirus disease. More information is available at: http://www.ivpair.com.

For more information on the research behind IVP technology, please visit https://research.ivpair.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/IVP-Scientific-Brief-Additional-Data.pdf