St. Luke’s, Lehigh University collaboration leads to intelligent, life-saving invention. BETHLEHEM, Zap Zone Defender PA. - Among tales of hope, 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 front-line organizations jumped to secure massive quantities of life-saving provides and personal protecting equipment (PPE), Zap Zone Defender Testimonial there has also been the need to establish quicker, extra environment friendly methods to wash and sterilize these items, significantly the coveted N95 masks. St. Luke’s University Health Network anesthesiologist, Christopher Roscher, MD, anticipated the necessity and an thought began to form. "It turned clear that PPE provides would grow to be restricted because the virus progressed," he says. The St. Luke’s Sterile Processing Department, or SPD, is the place the place all surgical and medical devices are sent to be meticulously cleaned, Zap Zone Defender Testimonial sanitized and Zap Zone Defender packaged for reuse. It’s a behind-the-scenes perform that is an essential part of the well being care system. "On any given day, we are 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 state of affairs, there's an overwhelming have to course of our employees’ PPE every day. For Dr. Roscher, a light went on - literally and figuratively. "I had been doing non-public analysis about finding methods to decontaminate masks for reuse, and peer-reviewed literature prompt that, in a pandemic, UV-C light might be an appropriate strategy to sterilize masks," he says. UV-C is a particular vary of UV, or extremely-violet, gentle and has been shown to deactivate viruses and different pathogens by causing modifications in their DNA. Through a mutual contact, Dr. Roscher bought 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 on the lookout for was a excessive-throughput sterilization system," stated Dr. Tansu. The 2 organizations joined forces by means of a collection of Zoom meetings and hundreds of emails, to design, fabricate, set up and take a look at the system - all within a matter of two weeks - and all while maintaining social distancing protocols.

The end end result: a option to successfully and effectively sterilize 200 masks each 8 minutes! The "Bug Zapper" in action. "Our current models were not designed for giant-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 venture. The unit, engineered by Lehigh students and staff and assembled at St. Luke’s by biomedical engineer Jay Johnson, has been affectionally named the "Bug Zapper" not solely because of its look, however resulting from its COVID-killing properties. "It is incredible that this venture moved at such a fast speed," remarks Dr. Tansu. The group 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 charge. "Our original design was cylindrical in form, to ensure even publicity of the sunshine on all surfaces," explains Dr. Tansu.

"Axel came to me and stated, ‘Dad, what about an octagon? ’ And sure sufficient, he was right. A patent to guard the team’s mental design has been filed. And a celebration for Zap Zone Defender Testimonial the collaborators to meet, in-person, shall be planned as soon as it is protected to take action. Until then, the Bug Zapper will probably be onerous at work, helping to guard the frontline workers at St. Luke’s and past. This, like so many different tales, Zap Zone Defender Testimonial affords a ray of hope during the pandemic - showcasing that the human thoughts and Zap Zone Defender spirit can overcome something - particularly when working collectively for Zap Zone Defender Device an incredible cause. Afterall, as the well-known philosopher Plato understood hundreds of years ago, necessity is the mom 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 employees providing services at eleven hospitals and 300 outpatient sites. With annual net income larger than $2 billion, the Network’s service space contains 11 counties: Lehigh, Northampton, Berks, Bucks, Carbon, Montgomery, Monroe, Schuylkill and Luzerne counties in Pennsylvania and Warren and Hunterdon counties in New Jersey.