St. Luke’s, Lehigh University collaboration results in clever, life-saving invention. BETHLEHEM, PA. - Among tales of hope, generosity and togetherness, Zap Zone Defender 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 secure giant portions of life-saving supplies and private protecting tools (PPE), there has additionally been the necessity to establish quicker, more environment friendly methods to wash and sterilize these objects, Zap Zone Defender Review particularly the coveted N95 masks. St. Luke’s University Health Network anesthesiologist, Christopher Roscher, MD, anticipated the need and an idea started to type. "It turned clear that PPE supplies would turn out to be restricted because the virus progressed," he says. The St. Luke’s Sterile Processing Department, or SPD, Zap Zone Defender Review 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 operate that is an important a part of the well being care system. "On any given day, we're processing many, many objects right here at our hospital in Bethlehem," states Taylor Bennett, bug zapper St. Luke’s Network Director of Sterile Processing.
"But with the present situation, there's an overwhelming need to process our employees’ PPE each day. For Dr. Roscher, a light went on - actually and figuratively. "I had been doing private research about finding methods to decontaminate masks for reuse, and peer-reviewed literature suggested that, in a pandemic, UV-C gentle could be a suitable strategy to sterilize masks," he says. UV-C is a particular range of UV, or ultra-violet, light and has been shown to deactivate viruses and different pathogens by causing adjustments of 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 high-throughput sterilization system," said Dr. Tansu. The two organizations joined forces through a sequence of Zoom conferences and hundreds of emails, to design, fabricate, install and test the system - all inside a matter of two weeks - and all while maintaining social distancing protocols.
The top result: a approach to effectively and effectively sterilize 200 masks every eight minutes! The "Bug Zapper" in motion. "Our existing models weren't designed for giant-scale use. They could solely sterilize about 30 masks at a time," acknowledged Eric Tesoriero, DO, anesthesiologist for St. Luke’s and a collaborator on the challenge. The unit, engineered by Lehigh students and employees and assembled at St. Luke’s by biomedical engineer Jay Johnson, has been affectionally named the "Bug Zapper" not solely on account of its appearance, but as a consequence of its COVID-killing properties. "It is unimaginable that this undertaking 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 truth, it was Axel’s contribution that allowed the unit to have such a high-throughput price. "Our authentic design was cylindrical in shape, 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 enough, he was right. A patent to protect the team’s intellectual design has been filed. And a celebration for the collaborators to fulfill, in-person, will be planned as soon as it's protected to take action. Until then, the Bug Zapper will be arduous at work, helping to protect the frontline employees at St. Luke’s and past. This, like so many other tales, provides a ray of hope throughout the pandemic - showcasing that the human thoughts and spirit can overcome anything - particularly when working collectively for an awesome trigger. Afterall, Zap Zone Defender as the well-known 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-revenue community of more than 15,000 staff providing providers at 11 hospitals and 300 outpatient websites. With annual web revenue greater than $2 billion, the Network’s service space includes eleven counties: Lehigh, Northampton, Berks, Bucks, Zap Zone Defender Review Carbon, Montgomery, Monroe, Schuylkill and Luzerne counties in Pennsylvania and Warren and Hunterdon counties in New Jersey.