Targeted antiviral treatment using non-ionizing radiation therapy for SARS-CoV-2 and viral pandemics preparedness: Technique, methods and practical notes for clinical application

PLoS One. 2021 May 14;16(5):e0251780. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0251780. eCollection 2021.

Abstract

Objective: Pandemic outbreaks necessitate effective responses to rapidly mitigate and control the spread of disease and eliminate the causative organism(s). While conventional chemical and biological solutions to these challenges are characteristically slow to develop and reach public availability; recent advances in device components operating at Super High Frequency (SHF) bands (3-30 GHz) of the electromagnetic spectrum enable novel approaches to such problems.

Methods: Based on experimentally documented evidence, a clinically relevant in situ radiation procedure to reduce viral loads in patients is devised and presented. Adapted to the currently available medical device technology to cause viral membrane fracture, this procedure selectively inactivates virus particles by forced oscillations arising from Structure Resonant Energy Transfer (SRET) thereby reducing infectivity and disease progression.

Results: Effective resonant frequencies for pleiomorphic Coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 is calculated to be in the 10-17 GHz range. Using the relation y = -3.308x + 42.9 with x and y representing log10 number of virus particles and the clinical throat swab Ct value respectively; in situ patient-specific exposure duration of ~15x minutes can be utilized to inactivate up to 100% of virus particles in the throat-lung lining, using an irradiation dose of 14.5 ± 1 W/m2; which is within the 200 W/m2 safety standard stipulated by the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP).

Conclusions: The treatment is designed to make patients less contagious enhancing faster recoveries and enabling timely control of a spreading pandemic.

Advances in knowledge: The article provides practically applicable parameters for effective clinical adaptation of this technique to the current pandemic at different levels of healthcare infrastructure and disease prevention besides enabling rapid future viral pandemics response.

MeSH terms

  • COVID-19 / radiotherapy*
  • COVID-19 / virology
  • Fluorescence Resonance Energy Transfer / methods*
  • Humans
  • Lung / radiation effects
  • Lung / virology
  • Pandemics / prevention & control*
  • Pharynx / radiation effects
  • Pharynx / virology
  • Radiation, Nonionizing*
  • SARS-CoV-2 / radiation effects*
  • Viral Load / radiation effects

Grants and funding

The author(s) received no specific funding for this work.