Bug Zapper Kills COVID-19 Virus

St. Luke’s, Zap Zone Defender Lehigh University collaboration results in clever, chemical-free bug control life-saving invention. BETHLEHEM, PA. - Among tales of hope, generosity and togetherness, the COVID-19 pandemic has also given rise to an unbelievable feat of ingenuity - the invention of the "Bug Zapper" to sterilize masks. As hospitals and different entrance-line organizations jumped to secure giant portions of life-saving provides and ZapZone Defender private protecting gear (PPE), there has additionally been the need to determine faster, more efficient ways to clean and sterilize these items, particularly the coveted N95 masks. St. Luke’s University Health Network anesthesiologist, Zap Zone Defender Christopher Roscher, MD, anticipated the necessity and an concept started to form. "It grew to become clear that PPE provides would grow to be restricted because the virus progressed," he says. The St. Luke’s Sterile Processing Department, or SPD, mosquito zapper 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 function that's a necessary a part of the well being 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 present scenario, there may be an overwhelming have to course of our employees’ PPE on a daily basis. For Dr. Roscher, a gentle went on - literally and figuratively. "I had been doing private analysis about discovering ways to decontaminate masks for reuse, and peer-reviewed literature instructed that, in a pandemic, UV-C mild might be an appropriate technique to sterilize masks," he says. UV-C is a particular range of UV, or ultra-violet, gentle and has been shown to deactivate viruses and different pathogens by inflicting adjustments in their DNA. Through a mutual contact, Dr. Roscher obtained 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 on the lookout for was a high-throughput sterilization system," mentioned Dr. Tansu. The two organizations joined forces by way of a series of Zoom meetings and a whole lot of emails, to design, fabricate, install and take a look at the machine - all inside a matter of two weeks - and all while maintaining social distancing protocols.



The tip result: a way to effectively and effectively sterilize 200 masks each 8 minutes! The "Bug Zapper" in action. "Our present items weren't designed for big-scale use. They may solely sterilize about 30 masks at a time," stated Eric Tesoriero, DO, anesthesiologist for St. Luke’s and a collaborator on the venture. 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 consequence of its look, but attributable to its COVID-killing properties. "It is unimaginable that this challenge moved at such a speedy velocity," remarks Dr. Tansu. The team 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 form, to ensure even exposure of the sunshine on all surfaces," explains Dr. Tansu.



"Axel came to me and said, ‘Dad, what about an octagon? ’ And sure sufficient, he was proper. A patent to guard the team’s mental design has been filed. And a celebration for the collaborators to fulfill, in-individual, will likely be planned once it is protected to do so. Until then, the Bug Zapper will probably be laborious at work, serving to to protect the frontline staff at St. Luke’s and past. This, like so many different stories, provides a ray of hope in the course of the pandemic - showcasing that the human thoughts and spirit can overcome anything - particularly when working together for Defender by Zap Zone an excellent cause. Afterall, as the well-known philosopher Plato understood 1000's of years ago, necessity is the mother of invention. Founded in 1872, St. Luke's University Health Network (SLUHN) is a totally built-in, regional, non-profit network of greater than 15,000 employees providing providers at eleven hospitals and 300 outpatient websites. With annual internet income better than $2 billion, ZapZone Defender the Network’s service area consists of eleven counties: Lehigh, Northampton, Berks, Bucks, Carbon, Montgomery, Monroe, Schuylkill and Luzerne counties in Pennsylvania and Warren and Hunterdon counties in New Jersey.