MedicalUV disinfection robot
LightStrike
by Xenex Disinfection Services
LightStrike is a robot that flashes strong ultraviolet (UV) light from pulsed xenon lamps to kill germs on surfaces in hospital rooms. A full room cycle takes about five minutes. The Robot Report, 5 Jan 2017
- Evidence
- Company-reported only
- Human help
- None reported
- Last milestone
- Jan 2026
01Can I get it?
Yes, in places
- Where it works today
- Used in more than 1,200 hospitals and healthcare sites worldwide, the company says. Xenex press release, 29 Sept 2025
- Published price
- No published price in our sources.
- Human help
- Hospital staff run the robot; it is used in empty rooms.
02Track record
What has actually happened
Every milestone is dated and links to the page it comes from. Lines marked company-reported rest on the maker's own word.
Cleared · sets the stage
Health Canada registered the LightStrike6 robot for sale to healthcare facilities in Canada.
Xenex press release (Business Wire), Jan 2026Company-reported
Funding
Xenex raised $38 million in a round led by Essex Woodlands.
MassDevice, 24 Feb 2017Company-reported
03Safety and incidents
What has gone wrong
No crashes, recalls or regulator reports in our sources. That is not proof none happened; we add them when a regulator or trusted outlet reports one.
On video
What it looks like, at stage 5
Videos from the maker show the robot at its best. The stage comes from the dated record above, not from what a video shows.
Stranger Than Fiction: What’s Lurking Behind the Mask?
Ask The Xpert: Cyclospora
Stranger Than Fiction: Understanding Listeria
Stranger Than Fiction - Summer Edition: Vibrio
EVS Need for Enhanced Technology
Stranger Than Fiction - ESBL-Producing EnterobacteralesHow we placed it
The rule, not an opinion
Stages are worked out by published rules from the dated milestones above. We never rate robots, and no maker can pay to change a stage.
- 5
Regulator-cleared or mass marketThis robot
A regulator has cleared it where approval applies: FDA clearance or approval for a medical robot, a permit to run with no one aboard for a self-driving vehicle, or an FAA approval for routine drone flights. Or: Widely sold: sales in the hundreds of thousands, or a product category you can buy in ordinary shops.
Placed by: Health Canada registered the LightStrike6 robot for sale to healthcare facilities in Canada (Jan 2026); The FDA cleared the LightStrike+ robot through the De Novo route, creating a new device category for UV robots that reduce germs on hard surfaces in healthcare settings (5 Sept 2023).
- 4
Paying customers
Delivered to customers who pay for it, beyond a trial, or a paid service the public can use.
- 3
Pilot
Working with a named customer in a real setting, as a trial.
- 2
Pre-orders
Orders, reservations or deposits taken, with nothing delivered yet.
- 1
Demo only
Shown in videos, staged events or a factory, with no units working for customers.
What we couldn't confirm. The FDA De Novo grant is reported only by Xenex; the FDA De Novo record number was not checked (web search ran out). Facility and cycle counts are company figures.
Sources
- 01The Robot Report, 5 Jan 2017
- 02Xenex press release, 29 Sept 2025
- 03Xenex press release (Business Wire), Jan 2026
- 04Xenex press release, 8 Oct 2024
- 05Xenex press release, 5 Sept 2023
- 06MassDevice, 24 Feb 2017
Cite this page
Robotics Verdict. “LightStrike (Xenex Disinfection Services): how far has it got?” roboticsverdict.com/robots/xenex-lightstrike. Checked 19 October 2026.
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