St. Luke’s, Lehigh University collaboration results in intelligent, life-saving invention. BETHLEHEM, PA. - Among stories of hope, generosity and Zap Zone Defender Device togetherness, the COVID-19 pandemic has additionally given rise to an incredible feat of ingenuity - the invention of the "Bug Zapper" to sterilize masks. As hospitals and other entrance-line organizations jumped to safe large portions of life-saving supplies and private protective tools (PPE), there has additionally been the need to identify quicker, Zap Zone Defender Device extra efficient methods to wash and sterilize those gadgets, Zap Zone Defender Device notably the coveted N95 masks. St. Luke’s University Health Network anesthesiologist, Christopher Roscher, MD, anticipated the necessity and Zap Zone Defender Setup an concept started to type. "It grew to become clear that PPE supplies would turn out to be limited as the virus progressed," he says. The St. Luke’s Sterile Processing Department, or SPD, is the place where all surgical and medical devices are despatched to be meticulously cleaned, sanitized and Zap Zone Defender Device packaged for Zap Zone Defender Device reuse. It’s a behind-the-scenes perform that is a vital a part of the health care system. "On any given day, we're processing many, many gadgets here at our hospital in Bethlehem," states Taylor Bennett, St. Luke’s Network Director of Sterile Processing.

"But with the present scenario, there may be an overwhelming have to course of our employees’ PPE on a daily basis. For Dr. Roscher, a mild went on - literally and figuratively. "I had been doing personal research about finding ways to decontaminate masks for reuse, and peer-reviewed literature instructed that, in a pandemic, chemical-free bug control UV-C mild could possibly be an acceptable strategy to sterilize masks," he says. UV-C is a particular vary of UV, or extremely-violet, gentle and has been proven to deactivate viruses and different pathogens by inflicting changes in their DNA. Through a mutual contact, Dr. Roscher received 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 on the lookout for was a high-throughput sterilization system," stated Dr. Tansu. The 2 organizations joined forces by means of a series of Zoom meetings and a whole lot of emails, to design, fabricate, set up and test the system - all inside a matter of two weeks - and all whereas maintaining social distancing protocols.

The end outcome: a way to effectively and effectively sterilize 200 masks every 8 minutes! The "Bug Zapper" in action. "Our current units weren't designed for big-scale use. They could solely sterilize about 30 masks at a time," acknowledged 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 solely resulting from its look, however as a consequence of its COVID-killing properties. "It is unimaginable that this undertaking moved at such a speedy speed," remarks Dr. Tansu. The group 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 rate. "Our original design was cylindrical in shape, to ensure even publicity of the light on all surfaces," explains Dr. Tansu.

"Axel came to me and said, ‘Dad, what about an octagon? ’ And sure sufficient, Zap Zone Defender Device he was right. A patent to protect the team’s intellectual design has been filed. And a celebration for Zap Zone Defender System the collaborators to meet, in-person, will probably be planned as soon as it's safe to do so. Until then, the Bug Zapper will be exhausting at work, serving to to guard the frontline staff at St. Luke’s and past. This, like so many other stories, affords a ray of hope during the pandemic - showcasing that the human mind and spirit can overcome something - especially when working collectively for an amazing trigger. Afterall, as the well-known philosopher Plato understood hundreds of years in the past, necessity is the mom of invention. Founded in 1872, St. Luke's University Health Network (SLUHN) is a totally built-in, regional, Zap Zone Defender Device non-revenue community of greater than 15,000 staff offering providers at eleven hospitals and 300 outpatient sites. With annual web revenue better than $2 billion, the Network’s service space contains 11 counties: Lehigh, Northampton, Berks, Bucks, Carbon, Montgomery, Monroe, Schuylkill and Luzerne counties in Pennsylvania and Zap Zone Defender Warren and Hunterdon counties in New Jersey.