St. Luke’s, Lehigh University collaboration results in clever, life-saving invention. BETHLEHEM, PA. - Among tales of hope, generosity and Zap Zone Defender 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 Zap Zone Defender Review different front-line organizations jumped to secure large portions of life-saving provides and private protective gear (PPE), there has also been the need to establish quicker, Zap Zone Defender Experience extra efficient methods to wash and sterilize those objects, particularly the coveted N95 masks. St. Luke’s University Health Network anesthesiologist, Christopher Roscher, MD, Zap Zone Defender anticipated the need and an idea began to kind. "It grew to become clear that PPE provides would turn out to be limited because the virus progressed," he says. The St. Luke’s Sterile Processing Department, Zap Zone Defender or Zap Zone Defender Device SPD, is the place where all surgical and Zap Zone Defender medical instruments are sent to be meticulously cleaned, sanitized and packaged for reuse. It’s a behind-the-scenes operate that's a necessary part of the well being care system. "On any given day, we are processing many, many gadgets 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 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 non-public analysis about discovering methods to decontaminate masks for reuse, and peer-reviewed literature urged that, in a pandemic, UV-C light may very well be an appropriate strategy to sterilize masks," he says. UV-C is a selected vary of UV, or extremely-violet, gentle and has been shown to deactivate viruses and different pathogens by inflicting changes in 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," stated Dr. Tansu. The two organizations joined forces through a sequence of Zoom conferences and a whole bunch of emails, to design, fabricate, install and check the device - all inside a matter of two weeks - and all while maintaining social distancing protocols.

The top consequence: a method to effectively and efficiently sterilize 200 masks every eight minutes! The "Bug Zapper" in motion. "Our existing units were not designed for giant-scale use. They may only sterilize about 30 masks at a time," said Eric Tesoriero, DO, anesthesiologist for St. Luke’s and a collaborator on the mission. The unit, engineered by Lehigh students and staff and assembled at St. Luke’s by biomedical engineer Jay Johnson, has been affectionally named the "Bug Zapper" not only attributable to its look, but as a consequence of its COVID-killing properties. "It is unbelievable that this project moved at such a speedy speed," remarks Dr. Tansu. The group 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 excessive-throughput charge. "Our original design was cylindrical in form, to ensure even publicity of the sunshine on all surfaces," explains Dr. Tansu.

"Axel came to me and stated, ‘Dad, what about an octagon? ’ And certain enough, he was right. A patent to protect the team’s intellectual design has been filed. And a celebration for the collaborators to fulfill, in-particular person, will probably be deliberate as soon as it's secure to do so. Until then, the Bug Zapper might be exhausting at work, helping to guard the frontline employees at St. Luke’s and beyond. This, like so many different stories, affords a ray of hope during the pandemic - showcasing that the human mind and spirit can overcome anything - particularly when working together for an incredible trigger. Afterall, as the famous philosopher Plato understood 1000's of years in the past, necessity is the mom of invention. Founded in 1872, Zap Zone Defender St. Luke's University Health Network (SLUHN) is a fully integrated, Zap Zone Defender regional, non-profit network of more than 15,000 employees providing services at eleven hospitals and Zap Zone Defender 300 outpatient sites. With annual internet revenue larger than $2 billion, the Network’s service space contains 11 counties: Lehigh, Northampton, Berks, Bucks, Carbon, Montgomery, Monroe, Schuylkill and Luzerne counties in Pennsylvania and Official Zap Zone Defender Warren and Hunterdon counties in New Jersey.

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Pub: 13 Aug 2025 04:40 UTC

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