St. Luke’s, Lehigh University collaboration leads to clever, life-saving invention. BETHLEHEM, PA. - Among tales of hope, generosity and togetherness, the COVID-19 pandemic has also 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 secure giant portions of life-saving provides and personal protective tools (PPE), Zap Zone Defender there has additionally been the need to identify faster, extra efficient methods to scrub and Zap Zone Defender Testimonial sterilize those items, significantly the coveted N95 masks. St. Luke’s University Health Network anesthesiologist, Christopher Roscher, MD, anticipated the necessity and an thought began to form. "It turned clear that PPE supplies would change into limited as the virus progressed," he says. The St. Luke’s Sterile Processing Department, or SPD, Zap Zone Defender 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 perform that is a necessary a part of the well being care system. "On any given day, we are processing many, many items right here at our hospital in Bethlehem," states Taylor Bennett, St. Luke’s Network Director of Sterile Processing.

"But with the current situation, there may be an overwhelming have to course of our employees’ PPE each day. For Dr. Roscher, a mild went on - actually and figuratively. "I had been doing personal analysis about finding ways to decontaminate masks for reuse, and peer-reviewed literature advised that, Zap Zone Defender Testimonial in a pandemic, UV-C gentle may very well be an appropriate strategy to sterilize masks," he says. UV-C is a specific range of UV, or ultra-violet, light and has been shown to deactivate viruses and different pathogens by causing adjustments in their DNA. Through a mutual contact, Dr. Roscher bought in touch 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," mentioned Dr. Tansu. The two organizations joined forces via a collection of Zoom meetings and a whole lot of emails, to design, fabricate, set up and check the device - all within a matter of two weeks - and all whereas maintaining social distancing protocols.

The end end result: a strategy to successfully and efficiently sterilize 200 masks every eight minutes! The "Bug Zapper" in action. "Our existing items were not designed for large-scale use. They may only sterilize about 30 masks at a time," acknowledged Eric Tesoriero, DO, anesthesiologist for St. Luke’s and a collaborator on the venture. The unit, engineered by Lehigh college students and staff and assembled at St. Luke’s by biomedical engineer Jay Johnson, has been affectionally named the "Bug Zapper" not solely as a result of its look, but attributable to its COVID-killing properties. "It is unbelievable that this venture moved at such a speedy 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 truth, it was Axel’s contribution that allowed the unit to have such a high-throughput price. "Our original design was cylindrical in shape, to make sure even exposure of the light on all surfaces," explains Dr. Tansu.

"Axel got here to me and Zap Zone Defender Testimonial mentioned, ‘Dad, what about an octagon? ’ And certain sufficient, he was proper. A patent to guard the team’s intellectual design has been filed. And a celebration for the collaborators to fulfill, in-particular person, bug zapper might be deliberate as soon as it is protected to do so. Until then, Zap Zone Defender Testimonial the Bug Zapper shall be onerous at work, helping to guard the frontline workers at St. Luke’s and Zap Zone Defender past. This, like so many other stories, Zap Zone Defender Testimonial offers a ray of hope throughout the pandemic - showcasing that the human mind and spirit can overcome anything - especially when working together for a great trigger. Afterall, because the famous philosopher Plato understood thousands of years in the past, necessity is the mother of invention. Founded in 1872, St. Luke's University Health Network (SLUHN) is a fully built-in, regional, non-revenue community of more than 15,000 employees providing companies at eleven hospitals and 300 outpatient websites. With annual net income higher than $2 billion, the Network’s service area includes eleven counties: Lehigh, Northampton, Berks, Bucks, Carbon, Montgomery, Zap Zone Defender Testimonial Monroe, Schuylkill and Zap Zone Defender Testimonial Luzerne counties in Pennsylvania and Warren and Hunterdon counties in New Jersey.