St. Luke’s, Lehigh University collaboration results in intelligent, life-saving invention. BETHLEHEM, PA. - Among tales 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 different entrance-line organizations jumped to safe large quantities of life-saving provides and personal protecting gear (PPE), there has also been the necessity to identify faster, Zap Zone Defender more environment friendly ways to scrub and sterilize these objects, particularly the coveted N95 masks. St. Luke’s University Health Network anesthesiologist, Zap Zone Defender Christopher Roscher, MD, anticipated the necessity and an thought started to type. "It turned clear that PPE provides would turn out to be restricted because the virus progressed," he says. The St. Luke’s Sterile Processing Department, or Zap Zone Defender SPD, is the place where all surgical and medical devices are sent to be meticulously cleaned, sanitized and packaged for reuse. It’s a behind-the-scenes function that's a vital a part of the well being care system. "On any given day, we're processing many, many objects here at our hospital in Bethlehem," states Taylor Bennett, St. Luke’s Network Director of Sterile Processing.

"But with the present state of affairs, there is an overwhelming need to process our employees’ PPE on a daily basis. For Dr. Roscher, a mild went on - actually and figuratively. "I had been doing private analysis about finding ways to decontaminate masks for reuse, and peer-reviewed literature suggested that, in a pandemic, UV-C light could be an appropriate technique to sterilize masks," he says. UV-C is a specific range of UV, or extremely-violet, gentle and has been proven to deactivate viruses and different pathogens by inflicting adjustments of their DNA. Through a mutual contact, Dr. Roscher obtained 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 Zap Zone Defender was a high-throughput sterilization system," said Dr. Tansu. The 2 organizations joined forces by a series of Zoom conferences and hundreds of emails, to design, fabricate, install and check the device - all within a matter of two weeks - and all while maintaining social distancing protocols.

The end result: a method to successfully and effectively sterilize 200 masks each eight minutes! The "Bug Zapper" in motion. "Our existing models 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 students and workers and assembled at St. Luke’s by biomedical engineer Jay Johnson, has been affectionally named the "Bug Zapper" not solely on account of its appearance, but as a consequence of its COVID-killing properties. "It is incredible 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 actual fact, it was Axel’s contribution that allowed the unit to have such a high-throughput rate. "Our unique design was cylindrical in shape, to ensure even publicity of the light on all surfaces," explains Dr. Tansu.

"Axel came to me and Zap Zone Defender Device said, ‘Dad, Zap Zone Defender what about an octagon? ’ And positive enough, he was right. A patent to guard the team’s intellectual design has been filed. And insect elimination a celebration for the collaborators to meet, in-individual, shall be planned once it is secure to do so. Until then, the Bug Zapper will be onerous at work, serving to to guard the frontline staff at St. Luke’s and beyond. This, Zap Zone Defender USA like so many other tales, gives a ray of hope during the pandemic - showcasing that the human mind and spirit can overcome something - especially when working together for an excellent trigger. Afterall, as the well-known philosopher Plato understood 1000's of years in the past, necessity is the mom of invention. Founded in 1872, St. Luke's University Health Network (SLUHN) is a fully built-in, Zap Zone Defender regional, non-profit network of greater than 15,000 staff offering services at eleven hospitals and 300 outpatient sites. With annual internet revenue better than $2 billion, the Network’s service space contains 11 counties: Zap Zone Defender Lehigh, Northampton, Berks, Bucks, Zap Zone Defender Carbon, Montgomery, Monroe, Schuylkill and Luzerne counties in Pennsylvania and Warren and Hunterdon counties in New Jersey.