Bug Zapper Kills COVID-19 Virus

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St. Luke’s, Lehigh University collaboration leads to clever, life-saving invention. BETHLEHEM, PA. - Among tales of hope, generosity and togetherness, the COVID-19 pandemic has additionally given rise to an unbelievable feat of ingenuity - the invention of the "Bug Zapper" to sterilize masks. As hospitals and other entrance-line organizations jumped to secure large portions of life-saving supplies and private protecting equipment (PPE), there has additionally been the necessity to establish faster, more environment friendly ways to wash and sterilize these items, Zap Zone Defender significantly the coveted N95 masks. St. Luke’s University Health Network anesthesiologist, Christopher Roscher, Zap Zone Defender MD, Zap Zone Defender anticipated the need and an idea began to kind. "It became clear that PPE provides would turn into restricted because the virus progressed," he says. The St. Luke’s Sterile Processing Department, or SPD, Zap Zone Defender 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 operate that's an important part of the well being care system. "On any given day, we're processing many, many objects right here at our hospital in Bethlehem," states Taylor Bennett, St. Luke’s Network Director of Sterile Processing.



"But with the current state of affairs, there is an overwhelming need to process our employees’ PPE each day. For Dr. Roscher, a light went on - actually and figuratively. "I had been doing personal analysis about discovering methods to decontaminate masks for reuse, and peer-reviewed literature suggested that, in a pandemic, UV-C gentle could possibly be a suitable technique to sterilize masks," he says. UV-C is a selected range of UV, or extremely-violet, mild and has been proven to deactivate viruses and different pathogens by inflicting modifications in their DNA. Through a mutual contact, Dr. Roscher bought 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 searching for was a excessive-throughput sterilization system," mentioned Dr. Tansu. The 2 organizations joined forces through a collection of Zoom meetings and a whole lot of emails, to design, fabricate, install and check the gadget - all inside a matter of two weeks - and all whereas sustaining social distancing protocols.



The tip result: a option to successfully and effectively sterilize 200 masks every eight minutes! The "Bug Zapper" in motion. "Our present units were not 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 venture. The unit, engineered by Lehigh college 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, however resulting from its COVID-killing properties. "It is incredible that this mission moved at such a fast speed," remarks Dr. Tansu. The workforce ranged from PhDs to MDs and even included an unexpected contributor - Axel Tansu, Dr. Tansu’s adolescent son. Actually, it was Axel’s contribution that allowed the unit to have such a high-throughput price. "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 stated, ‘Dad, Zone Defender what about an octagon? ’ And sure sufficient, he was right. A patent to guard the team’s intellectual design has been filed. And a celebration for the collaborators to meet, in-person, will be planned as soon as it is protected to do so. Until then, the Bug Zapper might be arduous at work, helping to guard the frontline staff at St. Luke’s and beyond. This, like so many different tales, affords a ray of hope throughout the pandemic - showcasing that the human mind and spirit can overcome anything - especially when working collectively for an important trigger. Afterall, as 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 completely integrated, regional, Zap Zone Defender non-profit network of greater than 15,000 employees providing services at 11 hospitals and 300 outpatient sites. With annual web income greater than $2 billion, the Network’s service area consists of 11 counties: Lehigh, Northampton, Berks, Bucks, Carbon, Montgomery, Monroe, Schuylkill and Luzerne counties in Pennsylvania and Warren and Hunterdon counties in New Jersey.

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