St. Luke’s, Lehigh University collaboration results in clever, life-saving invention. BETHLEHEM, PA. - Among tales of hope, 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 entrance-line organizations jumped to safe giant portions of life-saving supplies and personal protecting equipment (PPE), there has also been the necessity to establish quicker, more efficient ways to wash and sterilize those objects, notably the coveted N95 masks. St. Luke’s University Health Network anesthesiologist, Christopher Roscher, Zap Zone Defender Experience MD, anticipated the necessity and an idea started to kind. "It turned clear that PPE supplies would become limited because the virus progressed," he says. The St. Luke’s Sterile Processing Department, or SPD, is the place where 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 a necessary a part of the health care system. "On any given day, we are processing many, many items 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's an overwhelming have to process our employees’ PPE each day. For Dr. Roscher, a gentle went on - literally and figuratively. "I had been doing non-public research about discovering ways to decontaminate masks for reuse, and peer-reviewed literature urged that, in a pandemic, UV-C mild could be a suitable strategy to sterilize masks," he says. UV-C is a specific vary of UV, or ultra-violet, mild and has been proven to deactivate viruses and other pathogens by causing adjustments of 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 on the lookout for Zap Zone Defender System was a high-throughput sterilization system," said Dr. Tansu. The two organizations joined forces by way of a series of Zoom conferences and lots of of emails, to design, fabricate, install and check the system - all inside a matter of two weeks - and all whereas maintaining social distancing protocols.
The top result: a technique to effectively and efficiently sterilize 200 masks every 8 minutes! The "Bug Zapper" in action. "Our current units weren't designed for large-scale use. They might solely sterilize about 30 masks at a time," said Eric Tesoriero, DO, anesthesiologist for St. Luke’s and a collaborator on the mission. The unit, engineered by Lehigh college students and staff and assembled at St. Luke’s by biomedical engineer Jay Johnson, has been affectionally named the "Bug Zapper" not only attributable to its appearance, however because of its COVID-killing properties. "It is unbelievable that this venture moved at such a fast pace," remarks Dr. Tansu. The staff 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 charge. "Our original design was cylindrical in form, to ensure even exposure of the light on all surfaces," explains Dr. Tansu.
"Axel came to me and mentioned, ‘Dad, what about an octagon? ’ And sure sufficient, he was right. A patent to guard the team’s intellectual design has been filed. And a celebration for the collaborators to satisfy, in-person, Zap Zone Defender Experience will likely be deliberate as soon as it is safe to do so. Until then, the Bug Zapper will probably be arduous at work, Zap Zone Defender serving to to guard the frontline staff at St. Luke’s and beyond. This, Zap Zone Defender Review like so many other tales, presents a ray of hope throughout the pandemic - showcasing that the human mind and spirit can overcome anything - particularly when working collectively for an amazing trigger. Afterall, because the famous philosopher Plato understood hundreds of years in the past, UV bug zapper necessity is the mother of invention. Founded in 1872, St. Luke's University Health Network (SLUHN) is a fully integrated, regional, non-revenue network of greater than 15,000 staff offering services at eleven hospitals and Zap Zone Defender Experience 300 outpatient websites. With annual internet income better than $2 billion, the Network’s service area contains 11 counties: Zap Zone Defender Experience Lehigh, Northampton, Zap Zone Defender Experience Berks, Bucks, Carbon, Montgomery, Monroe, Schuylkill and Zap Zone Defender Device Luzerne counties in Pennsylvania and Warren and Zap Zone Defender Experience Hunterdon counties in New Jersey.