St. Luke’s, Lehigh University collaboration results in intelligent, life-saving invention. BETHLEHEM, PA. - Among stories of hope, generosity and togetherness, the COVID-19 pandemic has also given rise to an incredible feat of ingenuity - the invention of the "Bug Zapper" to sterilize masks. As hospitals and Zone Defender other entrance-line organizations jumped to safe massive quantities of life-saving provides and private protecting equipment (PPE), there has also been the necessity to determine faster, more environment friendly ways to scrub and sterilize these items, notably the coveted N95 masks. St. Luke’s University Health Network anesthesiologist, Christopher Roscher, MD, anticipated the necessity and an thought began to type. "It grew to become clear that PPE provides would grow to be limited as the virus progressed," he says. The St. Luke’s Sterile Processing Department, or SPD, is the place the place all surgical and Zap Zone Defender medical instruments are sent to be meticulously cleaned, sanitized and Zone Defender packaged for reuse. It’s a behind-the-scenes operate that's a vital a part of the well being 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's an overwhelming have to process our employees’ PPE each day. For Dr. Roscher, a light went on - literally and figuratively. "I had been doing personal research about discovering ways to decontaminate masks for reuse, and peer-reviewed literature prompt that, in a pandemic, UV-C mild may very well be an appropriate strategy to sterilize masks," he says. UV-C is a selected range of UV, or ultra-violet, mild and has been shown to deactivate viruses and other pathogens by inflicting adjustments in their DNA. Through a mutual contact, Dr. Roscher bought 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," mentioned Dr. Tansu. The two organizations joined forces by means of a series of Zoom meetings and a whole bunch of emails, to design, fabricate, set up and check the system - all within a matter of two weeks - and all whereas sustaining social distancing protocols.

The top consequence: a option to successfully and effectively sterilize 200 masks each eight minutes! The "Bug Zapper" in action. "Our present models were not designed for big-scale use. They may only sterilize about 30 masks at a time," stated 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 due to its appearance, but as a consequence of its COVID-killing properties. "It is incredible that this undertaking moved at such a speedy speed," remarks Dr. Tansu. The team ranged from PhDs to MDs and even included an unexpected contributor - Axel Tansu, Dr. Tansu’s adolescent son. In reality, it was Axel’s contribution that allowed the unit to have such a high-throughput fee. "Our unique design was cylindrical in shape, to ensure even publicity of the sunshine on all surfaces," explains Dr. Tansu.

"Axel got here to me and mentioned, ‘Dad, what about an octagon? ’ And sure sufficient, he was proper. A patent to protect the team’s intellectual design has been filed. And a celebration for the collaborators to satisfy, in-person, will likely be planned once it's secure to take action. Until then, the Bug Zapper can be hard at work, helping to protect the frontline employees at St. Luke’s and beyond. This, like so many other tales, affords a ray of hope during the pandemic - showcasing that the human thoughts and Zap Zone Defender spirit can overcome anything - especially when working together for a fantastic cause. Afterall, as the famous philosopher Plato understood 1000's of years in the past, necessity is the mother of invention. Founded in 1872, St. Luke's University Health Network (SLUHN) is a totally integrated, regional, non-revenue network of more than 15,000 staff offering providers at 11 hospitals and 300 outpatient websites. With annual internet income greater than $2 billion, the Network’s service space consists of eleven counties: Lehigh, Northampton, Berks, Bucks, Carbon, Montgomery, Monroe, Schuylkill and Luzerne counties in Pennsylvania and Warren and Official Zap Zone Defender Hunterdon counties in New Jersey.