St. Luke’s, Lehigh University collaboration results in clever, life-saving invention. BETHLEHEM, PA. - Among stories of hope, ZapZone Defender generosity and 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 front-line organizations jumped to safe large portions of life-saving provides and Zap Zone Defender personal protective tools (PPE), Zap Zone Defender Experience there has additionally been the need to establish quicker, extra environment friendly ways to clean and sterilize these objects, notably the coveted N95 masks. St. Luke’s University Health Network anesthesiologist, Christopher Roscher, MD, anticipated the need and ZapZone Defender an concept started to type. "It turned clear that PPE supplies would turn into limited because the virus progressed," he says. The St. Luke’s Sterile Processing Department, or SPD, ZapZone is the place where all surgical and medical instruments are sent to be meticulously cleaned, sanitized and packaged for reuse. It’s a behind-the-scenes perform that's an important a part of the well being care system. "On any given day, we are processing many, many gadgets right here at our hospital in Bethlehem," states Taylor Bennett, St. Luke’s Network Director of Sterile Processing.

"But with the current scenario, there is an overwhelming need to process our employees’ PPE every day. For Dr. Roscher, a mild went on - literally and figuratively. "I had been doing non-public analysis about discovering ways to decontaminate masks for reuse, and peer-reviewed literature suggested that, in a pandemic, UV-C mild could possibly be a suitable strategy to sterilize masks," he says. UV-C is a particular range of UV, or extremely-violet, gentle and has been shown to deactivate viruses and different pathogens by causing 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 high-throughput sterilization system," stated Dr. Tansu. The two organizations joined forces by means of a series of Zoom meetings and a whole bunch of emails, to design, fabricate, install and test the machine - all inside a matter of two weeks - and all whereas maintaining social distancing protocols.

The tip outcome: a strategy to successfully and effectively sterilize 200 masks each eight minutes! The "Bug Zapper" in action. "Our current units were not designed for giant-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 project. The unit, engineered by Lehigh college students and workers and assembled at St. Luke’s by biomedical engineer Jay Johnson, has been affectionally named the "Bug Zapper" not only as a result of its appearance, however because of its COVID-killing properties. "It is unbelievable that this challenge moved at such a fast pace," remarks Dr. Tansu. The group ranged from PhDs to MDs and even included an unexpected contributor - Axel Tansu, Dr. Tansu’s adolescent son. Actually, it was Axel’s contribution that allowed the unit to have such a high-throughput rate. "Our unique design was cylindrical in shape, to make sure even exposure of the sunshine on all surfaces," explains Dr. Tansu.

"Axel came to me and ZapZone Defender mentioned, ‘Dad, what about an octagon? ’ And positive sufficient, Zap Zone Defender he was proper. A patent to protect the team’s mental design has been filed. And a celebration for the collaborators to fulfill, in-particular person, will likely be planned once it's protected to take action. Until then, the Bug Zapper shall be laborious at work, serving to to guard the frontline staff at St. Luke’s and past. This, Zap Zone Defender System like so many other tales, offers a ray of hope through the pandemic - showcasing that the human thoughts and spirit can overcome something - particularly when working collectively for an awesome trigger. Afterall, ZapZone Defender as the famous philosopher Plato understood hundreds of years in the past, necessity is the mother of invention. Founded in 1872, ZapZone Defender St. Luke's University Health Network (SLUHN) is a completely integrated, regional, non-revenue network of greater than 15,000 employees providing providers at eleven hospitals and 300 outpatient sites. With annual net income better than $2 billion, the Network’s service area includes eleven counties: Lehigh, Northampton, ZapZone Defender Berks, Bucks, Carbon, Montgomery, Monroe, Schuylkill and Luzerne counties in Pennsylvania and Warren and Hunterdon counties in New Jersey.