St. Luke’s, Lehigh University collaboration results in intelligent, life-saving invention. BETHLEHEM, PA. - Among stories of hope, generosity and Zap Zone Defender Testimonial togetherness, the COVID-19 pandemic has additionally given rise to an unbelievable feat of ingenuity - the invention of the "Bug Zapper" to sterilize masks. As hospitals and other front-line organizations jumped to secure large quantities of life-saving supplies and personal protective gear (PPE), there has also been the necessity to establish quicker, more environment friendly methods to clean and sterilize these items, significantly the coveted N95 masks. St. Luke’s University Health Network anesthesiologist, Christopher Roscher, MD, anticipated the need and an thought started to form. "It became clear that PPE supplies would become restricted 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 sent to be meticulously cleaned, sanitized and packaged for reuse. It’s a behind-the-scenes perform that's an essential part of the health care system. "On any given day, we are processing many, many objects right here at our hospital in Bethlehem," states Taylor Zap Zone Defender Bennett, St. Luke’s Network Director of Sterile Processing.
"But with the current situation, there's an overwhelming have to process our employees’ PPE each day. For Dr. Roscher, a light went on - actually and figuratively. "I had been doing private analysis about discovering ways to decontaminate masks for reuse, and peer-reviewed literature recommended that, in a pandemic, UV-C gentle may very well be a suitable technique to sterilize masks," he says. UV-C is a selected range of UV, or extremely-violet, gentle and has been shown to deactivate viruses and different pathogens by inflicting changes in 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," mentioned Dr. Tansu. The 2 organizations joined forces by way of a sequence of Zoom meetings and a whole bunch of emails, to design, fabricate, install and take a look at the device - all inside a matter of two weeks - and all whereas sustaining social distancing protocols.
The end consequence: a technique to effectively and effectively sterilize 200 masks each 8 minutes! The "Bug Zapper" in action. "Our present units were not designed for big-scale use. They may solely sterilize about 30 masks at a time," stated Eric Tesoriero, DO, anesthesiologist for St. Luke’s and a collaborator on the venture. 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 Zapper" not only attributable to its look, but attributable to its COVID-killing properties. "It is incredible that this venture moved at such a speedy 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 truth, it was Axel’s contribution that allowed the unit to have such a excessive-throughput price. "Our original design was cylindrical in form, to make sure even publicity of the light on all surfaces," explains Dr. Tansu.
"Axel came to me and mentioned, ‘Dad, what about an octagon? ’ And positive sufficient, he was right. A patent to protect the team’s intellectual design has been filed. And a celebration for the collaborators to meet, in-person, can be deliberate as soon as it's protected to do so. Until then, the Bug Zapper will be hard at work, helping to protect the frontline employees at St. Luke’s and beyond. This, like so many different tales, presents a ray of hope in the course of the pandemic - showcasing that the human thoughts and spirit can overcome anything - particularly when working together for a fantastic cause. Afterall, Official Zap Zone Defender as the famous 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 completely integrated, regional, non-profit community of more than 15,000 staff providing services at eleven hospitals and 300 outpatient websites. With annual web income greater than $2 billion, the Network’s service area includes 11 counties: Zap Zone Defender Lehigh, Northampton, Berks, Bucks, Carbon, Montgomery, Monroe, Schuylkill and Luzerne counties in Pennsylvania and Zap Zone Defender Warren and Hunterdon counties in New Jersey.