Bug Zapper Kills COVID-19 Virus
St. Luke’s, Lehigh University collaboration results in clever, Zap Zone Defender life-saving invention. BETHLEHEM, PA. - Among tales of hope, generosity and togetherness, the COVID-19 pandemic has additionally given rise to an incredible feat of ingenuity - the invention of the "Bug Zapper" to sterilize masks. As hospitals and other front-line organizations jumped to secure large quantities of life-saving supplies and private protective tools (PPE), there has additionally been the need to identify faster, extra efficient methods to scrub and sterilize those gadgets, Zap Zone Defender notably the coveted N95 masks. St. Luke’s University Health Network anesthesiologist, Christopher Roscher, MD, anticipated the need and an idea started to form. "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 Zap Zone Defender SPD, is the place the place 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 important part of the health care system. "On any given day, we're processing many, many items here at our hospital in Bethlehem," states Taylor Zap Zone Defender Bennett, St. Luke’s Network Director of Sterile Processing.
"But with the current state of affairs, there may be an overwhelming have to process our employees’ PPE each day. For Dr. Roscher, a gentle went on - literally and figuratively. "I had been doing personal analysis about finding methods to decontaminate masks for Zap Zone Defender reuse, and Zap Zone Defender peer-reviewed literature instructed that, in a pandemic, Zap Zone Defender UV-C mild could be an appropriate strategy to sterilize masks," he says. UV-C is a selected range of UV, or ultra-violet, gentle and has been shown to deactivate viruses and other pathogens by inflicting adjustments of 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 looking for was a high-throughput sterilization system," said Dr. Tansu. The 2 organizations joined forces by way of a collection of Zoom meetings and a whole lot 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 end result: a strategy to effectively and effectively sterilize 200 masks each eight minutes! The "Bug Zapper" in action. "Our present items were not designed for large-scale use. They might only sterilize about 30 masks at a time," said Eric Tesoriero, DO, anesthesiologist for St. Luke’s and a collaborator on the venture. The unit, engineered by Lehigh college students and staff and assembled at St. Luke’s by biomedical engineer Jay Johnson, has been affectionally named the "Bug Zapper" not only due to its appearance, however because of its COVID-killing properties. "It is unimaginable that this mission moved at such a fast pace," remarks Dr. Tansu. The team ranged from PhDs to MDs and even included an unexpected contributor - Axel Tansu, Dr. Tansu’s adolescent son.
