Emergency lighting provider Code 3 has announced a licensing agreement with Vital Vio, Inc., developer of the White Light Disinfection technology designed to safely and constantly kill germs on indoor surfaces.

The partnership could mean integration of the light disinfecting technology on all of Code 3 and ECCO’s emergency vehicle compartment lighting and non-emergency commercial vehicles such as refuse haulers, school buses, and fleet vehicles. The company stated it would first focus on ambulances.

“The introduction of Vital Vio technology into the emergency vehicle marketplace will give our customers the opportunity to provide emergency responders with a healthier, safer work environment," said Bryan Lohbeck, product manager, ECCO Safety Group (ESG), parent company of Code 3. 

Interior lights incorporating Vital Vio technology multi-task to provide both illumination and disinfection, and act in concert with traditional intermittent cleaning to kill bacteria and other harmful organisms. Vital Vio’s proprietary technology uses a precisely tuned broadband spectrum of visible light, designed to target molecules that are only in germs and not in humans or animals. Unlike in the use of ultraviolet (UV) disinfection systems where human exposure is restricted, VioSafe White Light Disinfection technology is suitable for continuous human exposure, according to Code 3.

Research has shown that Vital Vio’s VioSafe White Light Disinfection technology continuously reduces bacteria on high touch surfaces in interior environments, including in a medical trauma room.

“Germs pose a constant and costly threat to first responders and their patients being transported in ambulances and other emergency vehicles. Code 3’s decision to integrate Vital Vio’s unique disinfection LED technology into its overhead lighting and illumination products designed for emergency vehicles offers an important new layer of infection protection for those whose lives are on the line every day,” said Vital Vio CEO and co-founder Colleen Costello.