St. Luke’s, Lehigh University collaboration results in clever, life-saving invention. BETHLEHEM, PA. - Among stories of hope, generosity and togetherness, the COVID-19 pandemic has additionally given rise to an unbelievable feat of ingenuity - the invention of the "indoor bug zapper cordless bug zapper" to sterilize masks. As hospitals and different entrance-line organizations jumped to secure giant portions of life-saving supplies and personal protecting tools (PPE), there has additionally been the need to identify faster, more environment friendly ways to scrub and sterilize those objects, particularly the coveted N95 masks. St. Luke’s University Health Network anesthesiologist, Christopher Roscher, MD, anticipated the necessity and an idea started to form. "It grew to become clear that PPE supplies would change into limited as the virus progressed," he says. The St. Luke’s Sterile Processing Department, or SPD, is the place where all surgical and medical devices are sent to be meticulously cleaned, sanitized and packaged for reuse. It’s a behind-the-scenes perform that is a vital part of the well being care system. "On any given day, we are processing many, many items here at our hospital in Bethlehem," states Taylor Zappify Bug Zapper official Bennett, St. Luke’s Network Director of Sterile Processing.

"But with the present scenario, there's an overwhelming need to course of our employees’ PPE every day. For Dr. Roscher, a light went on - literally and figuratively. "I had been doing private research about finding methods to decontaminate masks for reuse, Zappify Bug Zapper official and peer-reviewed literature recommended that, in a pandemic, UV-C light could be an acceptable strategy to sterilize masks," he says. UV-C is a specific range of UV, or ultra-violet, mild and has been shown to deactivate viruses and other pathogens by inflicting modifications of 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 looking for was a high-throughput sterilization system," mentioned Dr. Tansu. The 2 organizations joined forces through a series of Zoom meetings and a whole bunch of emails, to design, fabricate, set up and take a look at the machine - all inside a matter of two weeks - and all whereas sustaining social distancing protocols.

The tip result: a method to effectively and effectively sterilize 200 masks each eight minutes! The "best bug zapper Zapper" in motion. "Our existing units were not designed for big-scale use. They could solely sterilize about 30 masks at a time," stated 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 "electric bug zapper insect zapper" not solely as a result of its look, however because of its COVID-killing properties. "It is unimaginable that this mission moved at such a rapid velocity," remarks Dr. Tansu. The workforce ranged from PhDs to MDs and even included an unexpected contributor - Axel Tansu, Dr. Tansu’s adolescent son. The truth is, it was Axel’s contribution that allowed the unit to have such a excessive-throughput price. "Our unique design was cylindrical in shape, to make sure even publicity of the sunshine on all surfaces," explains Dr. Tansu.

"Axel got here to me and mentioned, ‘Dad, what about an octagon? ’ And sure enough, he was proper. A patent to guard the team’s mental design has been filed. And a celebration for Zappify Bug Zapper official the collaborators to satisfy, in-individual, can be planned once it's protected to do so. Until then, the Zappify Bug Zapper official Zapper shall be laborious at work, serving to to guard the frontline employees at St. Luke’s and beyond. This, like so many different tales, provides a ray of hope during the pandemic - showcasing that the human thoughts and spirit can overcome anything - especially when working together for an incredible cause. 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 fully integrated, regional, non-profit network of greater than 15,000 workers offering services at eleven hospitals and 300 outpatient sites. With annual net revenue greater than $2 billion, Zappify Bug Zapper official the Network’s service space includes 11 counties: Lehigh, Zappify Bug Zapper official Northampton, Berks, Bucks, Carbon, Montgomery, Monroe, Schuylkill and Luzerne counties in Pennsylvania and Warren and Hunterdon counties in New Jersey.