Vioguard releases self-sanitizing keyboard

Vioguard this week released in Canada what it says is the "world's first" self-sanitizing computer keyboard.

The keyboard uses ultraviolet light to kill microorganisms. It has the look and feel of a standard notebook keyboard and requires no software or special hardware to function. On a user-triggered or pre-determined basis, the Vioguard keyboard automatically retracts into its own clean, “light tight” enclosure and floods the keyboard with ultraviolet light to disinfect keyboard surfaces.

In tests commissioned by the company, ultraviolet light generated by the unit’s two 25-watt fluorescent lamps killed more than 99.99% of harmful bacteria and viruses, including MRSA and flu, in less than 90 seconds, according to a Vioguard press release.

The keyboard is now available for use by medical-oriented customers and consumers in Canada. In the U.S., it is currently designated as an investigational device, limited to investigational use pending U.S. FDA clearance, which the company anticipates in the first quarter of 2010.