Bug Zapper Kills COVID-19 Virus
St. Luke’s, Lehigh University collaboration results in intelligent, 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 Zapper" to sterilize masks. As hospitals and other entrance-line organizations jumped to safe large portions of life-saving supplies and personal protecting gear (PPE), there has also been the necessity to determine faster, more efficient methods to scrub and sterilize those items, particularly the coveted N95 masks. St. Luke’s University Health Network anesthesiologist, Christopher Roscher, MD, anticipated the need and an idea began to form. "It became clear that PPE provides would grow to be limited because 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, sanitized and packaged for Zap Zone Defender reuse. It’s a behind-the-scenes function that's a necessary a part of the health care system. "On any given day, we're processing many, many items 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 may be an overwhelming need to process our employees’ PPE every day. For Dr. Roscher, a light went on - literally and figuratively. "I had been doing private analysis about discovering methods to decontaminate masks for Zap Zone Defender reuse, and peer-reviewed literature urged that, in a pandemic, UV-C gentle could be an acceptable technique to sterilize masks," he says. UV-C is a particular range of UV, or extremely-violet, mild and has been shown to deactivate viruses and different pathogens by causing changes of their DNA. Through a mutual contact, Dr. Roscher received 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 in search of was a excessive-throughput sterilization system," stated Dr. Tansu. The 2 organizations joined forces via a collection of Zoom conferences and lots of of emails, to design, fabricate, set up and test the system - all inside a matter of two weeks - and all while sustaining social distancing protocols.
The tip result: a technique to effectively and efficiently sterilize 200 masks every eight minutes! The "Bug Zapper" in motion. "Our existing items weren't designed for giant-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 mission. 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 only as a result of its look, but because of its COVID-killing properties. "It is unbelievable that this undertaking moved at such a rapid pace," remarks Dr. Tansu. The crew ranged from PhDs to MDs and even included an unexpected contributor - Axel Tansu, Dr. Tansu’s adolescent son. In fact, it was Axel’s contribution that allowed the unit to have such a high-throughput fee. "Our authentic design was cylindrical in shape, to make sure even exposure of the sunshine on all surfaces," explains Dr. Tansu.
"Axel got here to me and mentioned, ‘Dad, what about an octagon? ’ And positive sufficient, he was right. A patent to guard the team’s mental 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 might be hard at work, helping to guard the frontline staff at St. Luke’s and beyond. This, like so many other stories, gives a ray of hope through the pandemic - showcasing that the human mind and spirit can overcome anything - particularly when working collectively for a terrific cause. Afterall, because the famous philosopher Plato understood 1000's of years in the past, necessity is the mom of invention. Founded in 1872, St. Luke's University Health Network (SLUHN) is a completely built-in, regional, non-profit network of more than 15,000 workers providing companies at 11 hospitals and Zap Zone Defender 300 outpatient websites. With annual web revenue higher than $2 billion, the Network’s service area contains eleven counties: Lehigh, Zap Zone Defender Northampton, Zap Zone Defender Berks, Zap Zone Defender Bucks, Carbon, Montgomery, Monroe, Schuylkill and Luzerne counties in Pennsylvania and Warren and Hunterdon counties in New Jersey.
