St. Luke’s, Lehigh University collaboration leads to intelligent, life-saving invention. BETHLEHEM, Zap Zone Defender System PA. - Among stories 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 front-line organizations jumped to safe giant quantities of life-saving supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE), Zap Zone Defender System there has also been the need to determine quicker, more efficient methods to wash and sterilize those items, notably the coveted N95 masks. St. Luke’s University Health Network anesthesiologist, Christopher Roscher, MD, anticipated the need and an concept started to type. "It turned clear that PPE provides would grow to be restricted as the virus progressed," he says. The St. Luke’s Sterile Processing Department, or Zap Zone Defender Experience SPD, is the place where all surgical and medical devices are despatched to be meticulously cleaned, sanitized and packaged for reuse. It’s a behind-the-scenes perform that is an essential part of the well being care Zap Zone Defender System. "On any given day, we are 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 situation, there may be an overwhelming need to course of our employees’ PPE each day. For Dr. Roscher, a light went on - literally and figuratively. "I had been doing non-public research about discovering methods to decontaminate masks for reuse, and peer-reviewed literature suggested that, in a pandemic, Zap Zone Defender UV-C gentle could possibly be an appropriate strategy to sterilize masks," he says. UV-C is a specific range of UV, or ultra-violet, gentle and has been shown to deactivate viruses and different pathogens by inflicting adjustments in their DNA. Through a mutual contact, Dr. Roscher got 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 looking for was a excessive-throughput sterilization system," mentioned Dr. Tansu. The 2 organizations joined forces by way of a series of Zoom conferences and a whole lot of emails, to design, fabricate, set up and test the system - all within a matter of two weeks - and all whereas maintaining social distancing protocols.

The end consequence: a method to successfully and efficiently sterilize 200 masks every 8 minutes! The "Bug Zapper" in action. "Our existing units weren't designed for large-scale use. They may only sterilize about 30 masks at a time," acknowledged Eric Tesoriero, DO, anesthesiologist for St. Luke’s and a collaborator on the project. 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 as a result of its look, but on account of its COVID-killing properties. "It is unbelievable that this undertaking moved at such a rapid speed," remarks Dr. Tansu. The workforce 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 high-throughput rate. "Our original design was cylindrical in shape, to ensure even publicity of the sunshine on all surfaces," explains Dr. Tansu.

"Axel got here to me and stated, ‘Dad, what about an octagon? ’ And positive enough, he was right. A patent to guard the team’s mental design has been filed. And a celebration for the collaborators to meet, in-individual, will likely be planned once it's safe to do so. Until then, the Bug Zapper will probably be hard at work, serving to to protect the frontline employees at St. Luke’s and past. This, Zap Zone Defender like so many other tales, provides a ray of hope during the pandemic - showcasing that the human mind and spirit can overcome anything - particularly when working together for Zap Zone Defender System an important cause. Afterall, Zap Zone Defender System as the famous philosopher Plato understood 1000's of years ago, Zap Zone Defender System necessity is the mom of invention. Founded in 1872, St. Luke's University Health Network (SLUHN) is a fully built-in, regional, non-revenue network of more than 15,000 workers offering services at eleven hospitals and 300 outpatient sites. With annual internet revenue better than $2 billion, the Network’s service space includes eleven counties: Lehigh, Zap Zone Defender USA Northampton, Berks, Bucks, Carbon, Montgomery, Zap Zone Defender Monroe, Schuylkill and Luzerne counties in Pennsylvania and Warren and Hunterdon counties in New Jersey.