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Space Technology That is Good for Your Smile
01/01/2009
There’s a good chance that your dentist is using water purification technology originally developed for NASA. DentaPure® uses Space Certified Technology Microbial Check Valve (MCV®) to clean water used in high-speed drills and other dental instruments.
Developed by Umpqua Research of Myrtle Creek, Ore., to support manned missions aboard the Space Shuttle and International Space Station, MCV® is commercially marketed by Water Security Corporation to prevent back contamination of water supplies by microorganisms. MCV® uses a flow-through cartridge containing iodinated ion exchange resin that kills microorganisms on contact and imparts a biocidal residual elemental iodine concentration to the water to maintain drinkability. This product is so effective at eliminating water-borne bacteria that it meets or exceeds American Dental Association requirements.
The valve and resin have been adopted by NASA as the preferred means to disinfect drinking water aboard U.S. spacecraft. This same technology is scalable for use in schools, hospitals, municipal water treatment plants, and is portable enough to help in emergencies, such as floods and other natural disasters, when infrastructure is compromised.
