Univ. Spinoff Tests Non-Chemical Device for Head Lice

(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)

Larada Sciences, a company started by faculty at University of Utah in Salt Lake City, released results of its LouseBuster device that removes head lice and their eggs from children’s hair without pesticides or other chemicals. The company says results of the test will be published in the January 2011 issue of the Journal of Medical Entomology.

The LouseBuster is a nonchemical treatment that dries out lice and nits (louse eggs) with jets of warm air during one 30-minute session. The device delivers two to three times more air than a standard blow dryer.

University of Utah biology Professor Dale Clayton, senior author of the study and a founder of Larada Sciences says, “It’s the volume of air as much as the temperature that kills lice.” The LouseBuster blows air at about 138 degrees Fahrenheit, which is cooler than common blow dryers. A 15-minute comb-out after treatment removes dead lice and nits.

The study compared the number of live and dead lice and nits before and after treatment on the 56 study participants. Lice and nits were collected from half of each patient’s head at the start of the experiment. Then, the whole head was treated with the LouseBuster. Next, lice were collected from the other side of the head. The researchers checked how many lice were alive and how many of the nits would hatch.

Most of the lice and nits collected at the start of the experiment were alive. After treatment by experienced LouseBuster operators, 88.2 percent of hatched lice were dead and 99.2 percent of nits failed to hatch, for an overall mortality of 94.8 percent.

The company says lice not killed immediately apparently were sterilized by the LouseBuster or died later. Any eggs that might have been missed by combing or other methods did not hatch because the LouseBuster treatment killed them.

Related: Trial Shows Results for Topical Treatment of Head Lice

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