St. Luke’s, Lehigh University collaboration leads to intelligent, life-saving invention. BETHLEHEM, Zap Zone Defender PA. - Among stories of hope, Defender by Zap Zone 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 safe giant portions of life-saving supplies and personal protecting tools (PPE), there has additionally been the need to identify faster, Zap Zone Defender extra efficient methods to scrub and sterilize those items, significantly the coveted N95 masks. St. Luke’s University Health Network anesthesiologist, Christopher Roscher, MD, anticipated the need and an concept began to form. "It turned clear that PPE supplies would turn into restricted because the virus progressed," he says. The St. Luke’s Sterile Processing Department, indoor-outdoor zapper or SPD, is the place the place all surgical and medical instruments are despatched to be meticulously cleaned, sanitized and packaged for reuse. It’s a behind-the-scenes function that is an essential part of the health care system. "On any given day, we're 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 present situation, there is an overwhelming need to process our employees’ PPE every day. For Dr. Roscher, a gentle went on - literally and figuratively. "I had been doing private research about finding ways to decontaminate masks for reuse, and peer-reviewed literature suggested that, in a pandemic, UV-C mild may very well be a suitable strategy to sterilize masks," he says. UV-C is a particular range of UV, or ultra-violet, gentle and has been shown to deactivate viruses and different pathogens by causing changes of their DNA. Through a mutual contact, Dr. Roscher got 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 looking for was a high-throughput sterilization system," said Dr. Tansu. The 2 organizations joined forces by means of a sequence of Zoom meetings and a whole lot of emails, to design, fabricate, set up and take a look at the system - all within a matter of two weeks - and all while sustaining social distancing protocols.

The top result: a strategy to effectively and effectively sterilize 200 masks each eight minutes! The "Bug Zapper" in action. "Our existing items were not designed for large-scale use. They could only sterilize about 30 masks at a time," stated Eric Tesoriero, DO, anesthesiologist for St. Luke’s and a collaborator on the challenge. 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 indoor-outdoor zapper" not only attributable to its appearance, however as a result of its COVID-killing properties. "It is unbelievable that this venture moved at such a fast velocity," 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 excessive-throughput price. "Our unique design was cylindrical in shape, to ensure even exposure of the light on all surfaces," explains Dr. Tansu.

"Axel came to me and stated, ‘Dad, what about an octagon? ’ And sure sufficient, he was proper. A patent to protect the team’s mental design has been filed. And a celebration for the collaborators to satisfy, in-particular person, might be deliberate once it is protected to do so. Until then, the Bug Zapper will be laborious at work, serving to to protect the frontline workers at St. Luke’s and beyond. This, like so many other tales, presents a ray of hope in the course of the pandemic - showcasing that the human mind and spirit can overcome something - particularly when working collectively for an amazing cause. Afterall, because the well-known 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 fully integrated, regional, Zap Zone Defender non-profit community of more than 15,000 workers offering services at eleven hospitals and 300 outpatient sites. With annual internet revenue higher than $2 billion, the Network’s service space consists of eleven counties: Lehigh, Zap Zone Defender Northampton, Berks, Bucks, Carbon, Montgomery, Monroe, Schuylkill and Luzerne counties in Pennsylvania and Warren and Hunterdon counties in New Jersey.