St. Luke’s, Zap Zone Defender Review Lehigh University collaboration leads to intelligent, Zone Defender life-saving invention. BETHLEHEM, PA. - Among stories of hope, generosity and ZapZone togetherness, the COVID-19 pandemic has also given rise to an incredible feat of ingenuity - the invention of the "Bug Zapper" to sterilize masks. As hospitals and different entrance-line organizations jumped to secure giant quantities of life-saving provides and personal protective equipment (PPE), there has also been the necessity to identify faster, extra efficient methods to scrub and sterilize these items, notably the coveted N95 masks. St. Luke’s University Health Network anesthesiologist, Christopher Roscher, MD, anticipated the necessity and ZapZone an idea started to type. "It grew to become clear that PPE supplies would turn out to be limited as the virus progressed," he says. The St. Luke’s Sterile Processing Department, or SPD, ZapZone is the place where all surgical and medical devices are despatched to be meticulously cleaned, sanitized and packaged for reuse. It’s a behind-the-scenes operate that is a vital a part of the health 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 situation, there may be an overwhelming have to course of our employees’ PPE each day. For Dr. Roscher, a mild went on - actually and figuratively. "I had been doing non-public analysis about finding ways to decontaminate masks for reuse, and peer-reviewed literature urged that, in a pandemic, UV-C mild may very well be an appropriate strategy to sterilize masks," he says. UV-C is a particular range of UV, or ultra-violet, gentle and has been proven to deactivate viruses and different pathogens by causing modifications of their DNA. Through a mutual contact, Dr. Roscher acquired 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 looking for was a high-throughput sterilization system," said Dr. Tansu. The 2 organizations joined forces by a collection of Zoom meetings and a whole bunch of emails, to design, fabricate, install and test the system - all within a matter of two weeks - and all whereas maintaining social distancing protocols.
The tip consequence: a option to effectively and effectively sterilize 200 masks each 8 minutes! The "Bug Zapper" in action. "Our current items weren't designed for giant-scale use. They may solely sterilize about 30 masks at a time," acknowledged Eric Tesoriero, DO, anesthesiologist for St. Luke’s and a collaborator on the mission. 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 because of its appearance, however resulting from its COVID-killing properties. "It is unbelievable that this project moved at such a fast velocity," remarks Dr. Tansu. The crew ranged from PhDs to MDs and even included an unexpected contributor - Axel Tansu, Dr. Tansu’s adolescent son. In reality, it was Axel’s contribution that allowed the unit to have such a excessive-throughput charge. "Our unique design was cylindrical in shape, to make sure even exposure of the light on all surfaces," explains Dr. Tansu.
"Axel came to me and mentioned, ‘Dad, what about an octagon? ’ And certain sufficient, he was right. A patent to guard the team’s mental design has been filed. And a celebration for the collaborators to meet, in-particular person, will likely be planned once it is protected to take action. Until then, the Bug Zapper will be arduous at work, Zap Zone Defender serving to to guard the frontline employees at St. Luke’s and beyond. This, like so many different stories, offers a ray of hope throughout the pandemic - showcasing that the human thoughts and spirit can overcome anything - particularly when working together for ZapZone an amazing cause. Afterall, because the well-known philosopher Plato understood hundreds of years in the past, necessity is the mother of invention. Founded in 1872, St. Luke's University Health Network (SLUHN) is a completely integrated, regional, non-revenue network of more than 15,000 employees providing providers at eleven hospitals and ZapZone 300 outpatient websites. With annual net revenue higher than $2 billion, ZapZone the Network’s service space includes 11 counties: Zap Zone Defender Experience Lehigh, Northampton, Berks, Bucks, Carbon, Montgomery, Monroe, Schuylkill and Zap Zone Defender Luzerne counties in Pennsylvania and Warren and Hunterdon counties in New Jersey.