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 unimaginable feat of ingenuity - the invention of the "Bug Zapper" to sterilize masks. As hospitals and different entrance-line organizations jumped to secure large portions of life-saving supplies and personal protecting equipment (PPE), there has also been the need to determine faster, extra efficient methods to wash and sterilize those items, particularly the coveted N95 masks. St. Luke’s University Health Network anesthesiologist, Christopher Roscher, MD, anticipated the necessity and an idea began to kind. "It became clear that PPE provides would develop into restricted because the virus progressed," he says. The St. Luke’s Sterile Processing Department, or SPD, is the place the place all surgical and medical instruments are despatched to be meticulously cleaned, sanitized and packaged for reuse. It’s a behind-the-scenes function that is an essential part of the well being care system. "On any given day, we are processing many, many gadgets 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's an overwhelming must course of our employees’ PPE each day. For Dr. Roscher, a mild went on - literally and figuratively. "I had been doing private research about discovering methods to decontaminate masks for reuse, and peer-reviewed literature prompt that, in a pandemic, UV-C light could be a suitable technique to sterilize masks," he says. UV-C is a particular vary of UV, or extremely-violet, mild and has been shown to deactivate viruses and other pathogens by causing changes of their DNA. Through a mutual contact, Dr. Roscher received 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," said Dr. Tansu. The two organizations joined forces via a sequence of Zoom meetings and tons of of emails, to design, fabricate, install and check the device - all within a matter of two weeks - and all whereas sustaining social distancing protocols.



The top end result: a strategy to effectively and efficiently sterilize 200 masks each 8 minutes! The "Bug patio insect zapper" in motion. "Our present items were not designed for big-scale use. They might 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 college students and employees and assembled at St. Luke’s by biomedical engineer Jay Johnson, has been affectionally named the "Bug Zapper" not solely as a result of its appearance, however because of its COVID-killing properties. "It is unimaginable that this challenge 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 actual fact, it was Axel’s contribution that allowed the unit to have such a high-throughput price. "Our authentic design was cylindrical in shape, to ensure even publicity of the sunshine on all surfaces," explains Dr. Tansu.



"Axel came to me and said, ‘Dad, what about an octagon? ’ And certain sufficient, he was right. A patent to guard the team’s intellectual design has been filed. And a celebration for the collaborators to fulfill, in-person, will be deliberate as soon as it is safe to take action. Until then, the Bug Zapper will probably be laborious at work, helping to guard the frontline employees at St. Luke’s and beyond. This, like so many other tales, presents a ray of hope through the pandemic - showcasing that the human mind and spirit can overcome anything - particularly when working collectively for Zap Zone Defender an excellent cause. Afterall, because the famous philosopher Plato understood 1000's of years ago, necessity is the mom of invention. Founded in 1872, St. Luke's University Health Network (SLUHN) is a completely integrated, regional, non-revenue community of greater than 15,000 workers offering companies at 11 hospitals and 300 outpatient websites. With annual web income larger than $2 billion, the Network’s service space includes eleven counties: Lehigh, Northampton, Berks, Bucks, Carbon, patio insect zapper Montgomery, Monroe, Zap Zone Defender Schuylkill and Luzerne counties in Pennsylvania and Warren and Hunterdon counties in New Jersey.

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