St. Luke’s, Official Zap Zone Defender Lehigh University collaboration leads to clever, life-saving invention. BETHLEHEM, PA. - Among stories of hope, generosity and togetherness, Zap Zone Defender Experience 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 massive portions of life-saving provides and private protecting gear (PPE), there has additionally been the necessity to identify faster, extra efficient methods to clean and sterilize these items, significantly the coveted N95 masks. St. Luke’s University Health Network anesthesiologist, patio insect zapper Christopher Roscher, MD, Zap Zone Defender anticipated the necessity and bug zapper an thought began to type. "It became clear that PPE supplies would change into limited because 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 Official Zap Zone Defender packaged for reuse. It’s a behind-the-scenes function that is an essential part of the well being care system. "On any given day, we're 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 present scenario, there is an overwhelming need to course of our employees’ PPE each day. For Dr. Roscher, a light went on - actually and figuratively. "I had been doing private analysis about discovering methods to decontaminate masks for Zap Zone Defender reuse, Official Zap Zone Defender and peer-reviewed literature suggested that, in a pandemic, UV-C light could possibly be an appropriate technique to sterilize masks," he says. UV-C is a selected vary of UV, or ultra-violet, light and has been shown to deactivate viruses and different pathogens by causing changes of their DNA. Through a mutual contact, Dr. Roscher acquired 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 via a collection of Zoom conferences and a whole lot of emails, to design, fabricate, install and take a look at the system - all within a matter of two weeks - and all whereas sustaining social distancing protocols.

The tip outcome: a way to effectively and efficiently sterilize 200 masks every eight minutes! The "Bug Zapper" in motion. "Our present models were not designed for big-scale use. They might 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 college students and employees 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 resulting from its COVID-killing properties. "It is incredible that this mission moved at such a fast velocity," remarks Dr. Tansu. The crew ranged from PhDs to MDs and even included an unexpected contributor - Axel Tansu, Dr. Tansu’s adolescent son. The truth is, it was Axel’s contribution that allowed the unit to have such a excessive-throughput rate. "Our original design was cylindrical in shape, to ensure even exposure of the light on all surfaces," explains Dr. Tansu.

"Axel got here 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 meet, in-individual, might be deliberate once it's safe to do so. Until then, the Bug Zapper will probably be onerous at work, serving to to guard the frontline staff at St. Luke’s and beyond. This, like so many different tales, gives a ray of hope during the pandemic - showcasing that the human mind and spirit can overcome anything - particularly when working collectively for Official Zap Zone Defender an ideal cause. Afterall, because the well-known philosopher Plato understood thousands of years in the past, necessity is the mother of invention. Founded in 1872, St. Luke's University Health Network (SLUHN) is a totally built-in, regional, non-revenue network of more than 15,000 employees providing services at eleven hospitals and 300 outpatient sites. With annual web income larger than $2 billion, the Network’s service area includes 11 counties: Official Zap Zone Defender Lehigh, Northampton, Berks, Bucks, Carbon, Official Zap Zone Defender Montgomery, Monroe, Schuylkill and Luzerne counties in Pennsylvania and Warren and Hunterdon counties in New Jersey.