Bug Zapper Kills COVID-19 Virus

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 also 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 other front-line organizations jumped to safe giant portions of life-saving provides and personal protective gear (PPE), there has also been the need to establish faster, extra environment friendly methods to clean and sterilize those gadgets, particularly the coveted N95 masks. St. Luke’s University Health Network anesthesiologist, Christopher Roscher, MD, anticipated the necessity and an concept started to kind. "It grew to become clear that PPE supplies would turn into restricted as the virus progressed," he says. The St. Luke’s Sterile Processing Department, or SPD, is the place the place all surgical and medical devices are sent to be meticulously cleaned, Zap Zone Defender Review sanitized and packaged for reuse. It’s a behind-the-scenes function that's a vital a part of the well being care system. "On any given day, we're processing many, many gadgets right here at our hospital in Bethlehem," states Taylor Bennett, patio insect zapper St. Luke’s Network Director of Sterile Processing.



"But with the current state of affairs, there may be an overwhelming must course of our employees’ PPE every day. For Dr. Roscher, a mild went on - actually and figuratively. "I had been doing personal analysis about discovering ways to decontaminate masks for reuse, and peer-reviewed literature steered that, in a pandemic, UV-C gentle could possibly be a suitable technique to sterilize masks," he says. UV-C is a particular vary of UV, or ultra-violet, light and has been shown to deactivate viruses and other pathogens by inflicting modifications in their DNA. Through a mutual contact, Dr. Roscher got 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 Official Zap Zone Defender was a excessive-throughput sterilization system," stated Dr. Tansu. The 2 organizations joined forces via a sequence of Zoom meetings and a whole bunch of emails, to design, fabricate, set up and take a look at the system - all inside a matter of two weeks - and all whereas sustaining social distancing protocols.



The top outcome: a strategy to successfully and effectively sterilize 200 masks every 8 minutes! The "Bug Zapper" in action. "Our existing items weren't designed for large-scale use. They might only 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 students and staff and assembled at St. Luke’s by biomedical engineer Jay Johnson, has been affectionally named the "Bug Zapper" not solely on account of its look, however on account of its COVID-killing properties. "It is unbelievable that this undertaking 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. In reality, it was Axel’s contribution that allowed the unit to have such a excessive-throughput fee. "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 stated, ‘Dad, what about an octagon? ’ And sure enough, he was right. A patent to guard the team’s intellectual design has been filed. And a celebration for the collaborators to fulfill, in-individual, shall be planned as soon as it is protected to take action. Until then, the Bug Zapper will probably be hard at work, Zap Zone Defender Device serving to to protect the frontline workers at St. Luke’s and beyond. This, like so many different stories, presents a ray of hope throughout the pandemic - showcasing that the human thoughts and spirit can overcome anything - particularly when working collectively for an excellent trigger. Afterall, because the famous philosopher Plato understood 1000's of years in the past, necessity is the mother of invention. Founded in 1872, St. Luke's University Health Network (SLUHN) is a totally built-in, regional, non-profit community of more than 15,000 workers offering services at 11 hospitals and 300 outpatient sites. With annual web income higher than $2 billion, the Network’s service space contains eleven counties: Lehigh, Northampton, Berks, Bucks, Carbon, Zap Zone Defender Testimonial Montgomery, Monroe, Schuylkill and Luzerne counties in Pennsylvania and Warren and Hunterdon counties in New Jersey.