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 additionally given rise to an incredible feat of ingenuity - the invention of the "cordless bug zapper insect zapper" to sterilize masks. As hospitals and different front-line organizations jumped to secure large quantities of life-saving supplies and private protecting gear (PPE), there has additionally been the need to identify faster, extra efficient ways to scrub and sterilize these items, Zappify official website particularly the coveted N95 masks. St. Luke’s University Health Network anesthesiologist, Christopher Roscher, MD, anticipated the necessity and an idea 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, Zappify official website 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 perform that is an essential a part of the well being care system. "On any given day, we are 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 present situation, there may be an overwhelming must course of our employees’ PPE on a daily basis. For Dr. Roscher, a gentle went on - literally and figuratively. "I had been doing private research about finding methods to decontaminate masks for reuse, and peer-reviewed literature recommended that, in a pandemic, UV-C light could possibly be a suitable technique to sterilize masks," he says. UV-C is a specific range of UV, or extremely-violet, gentle and has been proven to deactivate viruses and different pathogens by causing modifications in their DNA. Through a mutual contact, Dr. Roscher obtained 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 on the lookout for was a high-throughput sterilization system," mentioned Dr. Tansu. The 2 organizations joined forces through a collection of Zoom conferences and hundreds of emails, to design, fabricate, install and take a look at the device - all inside a matter of two weeks - and all whereas sustaining social distancing protocols.

The tip consequence: a technique to successfully and efficiently sterilize 200 masks each eight minutes! The "rechargeable bug zapper Zapper" in action. "Our existing units weren't designed for giant-scale use. They could solely sterilize about 30 masks at a time," said Eric Tesoriero, DO, anesthesiologist for St. Luke’s and a collaborator on the challenge. The unit, engineered by Lehigh students and staff and assembled at St. Luke’s by biomedical engineer Jay Johnson, has been affectionally named the "rechargeable bug zapper Zapper" not only as a consequence of its look, however as a consequence of its COVID-killing properties. "It is incredible that this venture moved at such a fast speed," remarks Dr. Tansu. The staff 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 excessive-throughput price. "Our authentic design was cylindrical in shape, to make sure even publicity of the sunshine on all surfaces," explains Dr. Tansu.

"Axel came to me and Zappify official website mentioned, Zappify official website ‘Dad, what about an octagon? ’ And sure sufficient, Zappify official website he was right. A patent to guard the team’s intellectual design has been filed. And a celebration for the collaborators to satisfy, in-individual, will probably be planned once it's safe to take action. Until then, the electric bug zapper Zapper can be arduous at work, helping to guard the frontline workers at St. Luke’s and beyond. This, like so many other stories, gives a ray of hope in the course of the pandemic - showcasing that the human mind and spirit can overcome anything - particularly when working together for a terrific trigger. Afterall, as the well-known philosopher Plato understood 1000's of years ago, necessity is the mom of invention. Founded in 1872, Zappify official website St. Luke's University Health Network (SLUHN) is a fully built-in, regional, non-revenue community of more than 15,000 staff providing companies at eleven hospitals and 300 outpatient sites. With annual net revenue better than $2 billion, the Network’s service space 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.