Ultraviolet blood irradiation (UBI) was used with success in the 1930s and 1940s for a variety of diseases. Despite the success, the lack of understanding of the detailed mechanisms of actions, and the achievements of antibiotics, phased off the use of UBI from the 1950s. The emergence of novel viral infections, from HIV/AIDS to Ebola, from SARS and MERS, and SARS-CoV-2, bring back the attention to this therapeutical opportunity. UBI has a complex virucidal activity, mostly acting on the immune system response. It has effects on lymphocytes (T-cells and B-cells), macrophages, monocytes, dendritic cells, low-density lipoprotein (LDL), and lipids. The Knott technique was applied for bacterial infections such as tuberculosis to viral infections such as hepatitis or influenza. The more complex extracorporeal photopheresis (ECP) is also being applied to hematological cancers such as T-cell lymphomas. Further studies of UBI may help to create a useful device that may find applications for novel viruses that are resistant to known antivirals or vaccines, or also bacteria that are resistant to known antibiotics.

紫外线血液照射 (UBI) 在 20 世纪 30 年代和 20 世纪 40 年代成功用于治疗多种疾病。尽管取得了成功，但由于缺乏对抗生素详细作用机制和成就的了解，UBI 从 20 世纪 50 年代开始逐步停止使用。从艾滋病毒/艾滋病到埃博拉病毒、SARS 和 MERS 以及 SARS-CoV-2 等新型病毒感染的出现，重新引起人们对这一治疗机会的关注。 UBI 具有复杂的杀病毒活性，主要作用于免疫系统反应。它对淋巴细胞（T 细胞和 B 细胞）、巨噬细胞、单核细胞、树突状细胞、低密度脂蛋白 (LDL) 和脂质有影响。诺特技术适用于结核病等细菌感染以及肝炎或流感等病毒感染。更复杂的体外光分离术 (ECP) 也被应用于 T 细胞淋巴瘤等血液癌症。对 UBI 的进一步研究可能有助于创建一种有用的装置，该装置可以应用于对已知抗病毒药物或疫苗具有抗药性的新型病毒，或者对已知抗生素具有抗药性的细菌。