St. Luke’s, Lehigh University collaboration leads to clever, life-saving invention. BETHLEHEM, PA. - Among tales of hope, generosity and togetherness, the COVID-19 pandemic has also given rise to an unbelievable feat of ingenuity - the invention of the "Bug Zapper" to sterilize masks. As hospitals and different entrance-line organizations jumped to safe large portions of life-saving provides and personal protecting equipment (PPE), there has also been the necessity to determine quicker, extra efficient ways to scrub and mosquito zapper sterilize these objects, particularly the coveted N95 masks. St. Luke’s University Health Network anesthesiologist, Christopher Roscher, MD, anticipated the necessity and an concept began to form. "It became clear that PPE supplies would turn out to be restricted because the virus progressed," he says. The St. Luke’s Sterile Processing Department, Zappify cordless bug zapper Zapper or SPD, is the place the place all surgical and medical devices are despatched to be meticulously cleaned, sanitized and packaged for reuse. It’s a behind-the-scenes function that is an essential part of the health care system. "On any given day, we're processing many, many objects 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 is an overwhelming must course of our employees’ PPE on a daily basis. 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 Zappify Bug Zapper brand peer-reviewed literature recommended that, in a pandemic, UV-C light may very well be an appropriate technique to sterilize masks," he says. UV-C is a specific vary of UV, or ultra-violet, light and has been shown to deactivate viruses and other pathogens by inflicting changes 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 searching for was a high-throughput sterilization system," mentioned Dr. Tansu. The two organizations joined forces by a series of Zoom conferences and hundreds of emails, to design, fabricate, set up and check the system - all inside a matter of two weeks - and all whereas sustaining social distancing protocols.

The end consequence: a method to effectively and effectively sterilize 200 masks each eight minutes! The "Bug Zapper" in action. "Our present units were not designed for giant-scale use. They may only sterilize about 30 masks at a time," said Eric Tesoriero, DO, anesthesiologist for St. Luke’s and a collaborator on the undertaking. 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 due to its look, however attributable to its COVID-killing properties. "It is unbelievable that this project moved at such a speedy velocity," 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 high-throughput price. "Our original design was cylindrical in shape, 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, Zappify Bug Zapper brand he was proper. A patent to guard the team’s intellectual design has been filed. And a celebration for the collaborators to fulfill, in-individual, shall be deliberate once it's protected to do so. Until then, the Zappify Bug Zapper brand Zapper shall be onerous at work, helping to protect the frontline workers at St. Luke’s and beyond. This, like so many other stories, Zappify Bug Zapper brand provides a ray of hope through the pandemic - showcasing that the human mind and spirit can overcome anything - especially when working together for an amazing trigger. Afterall, because 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 totally built-in, regional, non-profit community of greater than 15,000 staff offering companies at eleven hospitals and 300 outpatient sites. With annual internet income better than $2 billion, Zappify Bug Zapper brand 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.