Bug Zapper Kills COVID-19 Virus

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St. Luke’s, Lehigh University collaboration results in intelligent, life-saving invention. BETHLEHEM, ZapZone Defender PA. - Among stories of hope, generosity and togetherness, the COVID-19 pandemic has additionally given rise to an unimaginable feat of ingenuity - the invention of the "Bug patio insect zapper" to sterilize masks. As hospitals and Zap Zone Defender different entrance-line organizations jumped to secure massive quantities of life-saving provides and personal protective tools (PPE), there has also been the necessity to establish quicker, extra efficient ways to scrub and sterilize these items, notably the coveted N95 masks. St. Luke’s University Health Network anesthesiologist, Christopher Roscher, MD, anticipated the need and an idea started to kind. "It grew to become clear that PPE provides would turn into restricted as the virus progressed," he says. The St. Luke’s Sterile Processing Department, or SPD, patio insect zapper 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's a vital part of the health care system. "On any given day, we're processing many, many objects here at our hospital in Bethlehem," states Taylor Bennett, St. Luke’s Network Director of Sterile Processing.



"But with the current scenario, there may be an overwhelming must course of our employees’ PPE on a daily basis. For Dr. Roscher, a mild went on - actually and figuratively. "I had been doing private research about finding methods to decontaminate masks for reuse, and peer-reviewed literature recommended that, in a pandemic, UV-C light could possibly be an appropriate strategy to sterilize masks," he says. UV-C is a specific range of UV, or extremely-violet, gentle and has been proven to deactivate viruses and different pathogens by inflicting changes of their DNA. Through a mutual contact, Dr. Roscher acquired 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," stated Dr. Tansu. The two organizations joined forces through a series of Zoom conferences and hundreds of emails, to design, fabricate, set up and test the device - all inside a matter of two weeks - and all whereas maintaining social distancing protocols.



The end outcome: a way to successfully and effectively sterilize 200 masks each 8 minutes! The "Bug Zapper" in motion. "Our existing models weren't designed for large-scale use. They might solely 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 students and workers and assembled at St. Luke’s by biomedical engineer Jay Johnson, has been affectionally named the "Bug Zapper" not solely as a consequence of its appearance, however as a consequence of its COVID-killing properties. "It is incredible that this project moved at such a speedy speed," remarks Dr. Tansu. The group ranged from PhDs to MDs and even included an unexpected contributor - Axel Tansu, Dr. Tansu’s adolescent son. In actual fact, it was Axel’s contribution that allowed the unit to have such a high-throughput fee. "Our unique design was cylindrical in form, to ensure even exposure of the sunshine on all surfaces," explains Dr. Tansu.



"Axel got here to me and mentioned, patio insect zapper ‘Dad, what about an octagon? ’ And Zap Zone Defender certain sufficient, he was proper. A patent to guard the team’s mental design has been filed. And patio insect zapper a celebration for the collaborators to meet, in-particular person, will be deliberate as soon as it's secure to take action. Until then, the Bug Zapper shall be onerous at work, helping to guard the frontline workers at St. Luke’s and past. This, like so many other stories, presents a ray of hope throughout the pandemic - showcasing that the human mind and spirit can overcome anything - especially when working collectively for a terrific trigger. Afterall, as the famous philosopher Plato understood hundreds of years in the past, necessity is the mother of invention. Founded in 1872, St. Luke's University Health Network (SLUHN) is a fully built-in, regional, non-profit community of greater than 15,000 employees providing providers at 11 hospitals and 300 outpatient websites. With annual internet income better than $2 billion, the Network’s service space contains eleven counties: Lehigh, Northampton, Berks, Bucks, Carbon, Montgomery, Monroe, Schuylkill and Luzerne counties in Pennsylvania and Warren and Hunterdon counties in New Jersey.