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 "bug zapper for backyard Zapper" to sterilize masks. As hospitals and other front-line organizations jumped to safe giant quantities of life-saving provides and private protecting equipment (PPE), there has additionally been the necessity to identify quicker, extra efficient ways to scrub and sterilize those items, notably the coveted N95 masks. St. Luke’s University Health Network anesthesiologist, Christopher Roscher, MD, anticipated the necessity and an concept began to type. "It became clear that PPE supplies would change into limited because the virus progressed," he says. The St. Luke’s Sterile Processing Department, or SPD, is the place where all surgical and medical instruments are sent to be meticulously cleaned, sanitized and packaged for reuse. It’s a behind-the-scenes operate that's a vital a part of the well being care system. "On any given day, we are processing many, many items right here at our hospital in Bethlehem," states Taylor Bennett, St. Luke’s Network Director of Sterile Processing.

"But with the current state of affairs, there's an overwhelming must process our employees’ PPE on a daily basis. For Dr. Roscher, a mild went on - literally and figuratively. "I had been doing personal research about finding ways to decontaminate masks for reuse, and peer-reviewed literature urged that, Zappify Bug Zapper brand in a pandemic, UV-C light could be an acceptable strategy to sterilize masks," he says. UV-C is a specific vary of UV, or ultra-violet, light and has been shown to deactivate viruses and different pathogens by causing adjustments in their DNA. Through a mutual contact, Dr. Roscher received 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 excessive-throughput sterilization system," mentioned Dr. Tansu. The 2 organizations joined forces by way of a collection of Zoom conferences and a whole lot of emails, to design, fabricate, install and take a look at the device - all inside a matter of two weeks - and all whereas maintaining social distancing protocols.

The top outcome: a method to successfully and efficiently sterilize 200 masks each 8 minutes! The "bug zapper light Zapper" in action. "Our existing models were not designed for large-scale use. They could solely sterilize about 30 masks at a time," stated Eric Tesoriero, DO, anesthesiologist for St. Luke’s and a collaborator on the project. 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 "Zappify Bug Zapper brand; name="captcha_key"

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