St. Luke’s, Lehigh University collaboration results in intelligent, life-saving invention. BETHLEHEM, PA. - Among tales of hope, generosity and togetherness, the COVID-19 pandemic has additionally given rise to an unimaginable feat of ingenuity - the invention of the "Bug Zapper" to sterilize masks. As hospitals and different entrance-line organizations jumped to safe giant quantities of life-saving supplies and private protective tools (PPE), there has also been the necessity to establish quicker, extra efficient ways to clean and Zap Zone Defender Device sterilize those gadgets, particularly the coveted N95 masks. St. Luke’s University Health Network anesthesiologist, Christopher Roscher, MD, anticipated the necessity and an concept began to form. "It turned clear that PPE provides would turn into restricted because the virus progressed," he says. The St. Luke’s Sterile Processing Department, or SPD, is the place the place all surgical and medical devices are despatched to be meticulously cleaned, sanitized and packaged for reuse. It’s a behind-the-scenes function that is a necessary part of the well being care system. "On any given day, we are processing many, many objects here at our hospital in Bethlehem," states Taylor Bennett, St. Luke’s Network Director of Sterile Processing.

"But with the current scenario, there's an overwhelming have to course of our employees’ PPE each day. For Dr. Roscher, a light went on - actually and figuratively. "I had been doing personal research about discovering methods to decontaminate masks for reuse, and peer-reviewed literature suggested that, in a pandemic, UV-C gentle might be an acceptable technique to sterilize masks," he says. UV-C is a particular range of UV, or extremely-violet, mild and has been proven to deactivate viruses and other pathogens by inflicting modifications of their DNA. Through a mutual contact, Dr. Roscher obtained in contact with Nelson Tansu, PhD, Lehigh University’s Director and Endowed Chair of its Center for Photonics and Nanoelectronics (CPN). "What St. Luke’s was in search of was a excessive-throughput sterilization system," said Dr. Tansu. The 2 organizations joined forces by way of a collection of Zoom conferences and lots of of emails, to design, fabricate, install and take a look at the system - all within a matter of two weeks - and all whereas sustaining social distancing protocols.

The tip end result: a strategy to effectively and effectively sterilize 200 masks each 8 minutes! The "Bug Zapper" in action. "Our present models were not designed for big-scale use. They could solely sterilize about 30 masks at a time," said Eric Tesoriero, DO, anesthesiologist for St. Luke’s and a collaborator on the mission. The unit, engineered by Lehigh students and workers and assembled at St. Luke’s by biomedical engineer Jay Johnson, has been affectionally named the "Bug Zapper" not only on account of its look, but because of its COVID-killing properties. "It is incredible that this project moved at such a fast velocity," remarks Dr. Tansu. The crew ranged from PhDs to MDs and even included an unexpected contributor - Axel Tansu, Dr. Tansu’s adolescent son. In fact, it was Axel’s contribution that allowed the unit to have such a excessive-throughput rate. "Our authentic design was cylindrical in shape, Zone Defender to ensure even publicity of the sunshine on all surfaces," explains Dr. Tansu.

"Axel got here to me and stated, ‘Dad, what about an octagon? ’ And ZapZone positive sufficient, he was right. A patent to protect the team’s mental design has been filed. And a celebration for the collaborators to fulfill, in-particular person, will probably be planned once it is secure to do so. Until then, indoor-outdoor zapper the Bug Zapper will likely be exhausting at work, helping to guard the frontline employees at St. Luke’s and past. This, like so many other tales, offers a ray of hope in the course of the pandemic - showcasing that the human thoughts and spirit can overcome anything - particularly when working together for a fantastic cause. Afterall, as the well-known philosopher Plato understood hundreds of years in the past, Zap Zone Defender Device necessity is the mother of invention. Founded in 1872, St. Luke's University Health Network (SLUHN) is a totally built-in, regional, non-profit network of more than 15,000 employees offering providers at 11 hospitals and 300 outpatient sites. With annual net revenue higher than $2 billion, the Network’s service area includes eleven counties: Zap Zone Defender Device Lehigh, Northampton, Zap Zone Defender Berks, insect zapper Bucks, Carbon, Montgomery, Monroe, Schuylkill and Luzerne counties in Pennsylvania and Warren and Hunterdon counties in New Jersey.