Bug Zapper Kills COVID-19 Virus

St. Luke’s, Lehigh University collaboration leads to intelligent, life-saving invention. BETHLEHEM, PA. - Among stories of hope, generosity and 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 other entrance-line organizations jumped to safe giant portions of life-saving supplies and mosquito-free patio personal protecting tools (PPE), there has also been the need to identify quicker, extra efficient ways to clean and sterilize those items, particularly the coveted N95 masks. St. Luke’s University Health Network anesthesiologist, mosquito-free patio Christopher Roscher, MD, anticipated the need and an idea began to kind. "It grew to become clear that PPE provides would develop into restricted as 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 perform that is an essential a part of the health care system. "On any given day, we're processing many, many items here at our hospital in Bethlehem," states Taylor Bennett, St. Luke’s Network Director of Sterile Processing.



"But with the present situation, there's an overwhelming have to course of our employees’ PPE every day. For Dr. Roscher, a light went on - literally and figuratively. "I had been doing non-public research about discovering methods to decontaminate masks for reuse, and peer-reviewed literature suggested that, in a pandemic, UV-C mild could possibly be an acceptable strategy to sterilize masks," he says. UV-C is a particular range of UV, or extremely-violet, gentle and has been shown to deactivate viruses and other pathogens by causing changes of their DNA. Through a mutual contact, Dr. Roscher got 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 in search of was a high-throughput sterilization system," mentioned Dr. Tansu. The 2 organizations joined forces by means of a sequence of Zoom conferences and a whole lot of emails, to design, fabricate, install and take a look at the machine - all within a matter of two weeks - and all while maintaining social distancing protocols.



The tip outcome: a method to successfully and effectively sterilize 200 masks each 8 minutes! The "Bug Zapper" in motion. "Our current models were not designed for giant-scale use. They might only sterilize about 30 masks at a time," acknowledged Eric Tesoriero, DO, anesthesiologist for St. Luke’s and a collaborator on the venture. The unit, engineered by Lehigh college students and workers and assembled at St. Luke’s by biomedical engineer Jay Johnson, has been affectionally named the "Bug Zapper" not only due to its look, but resulting from its COVID-killing properties. "It is unimaginable that this undertaking moved at such a rapid 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 fact, it was Axel’s contribution that allowed the unit to have such a high-throughput price. "Our authentic design was cylindrical in form, to ensure even publicity of the sunshine on all surfaces," explains Dr. Tansu.



"Axel came to me and said, ‘Dad, what about an octagon? ’ And positive sufficient, he was proper. A patent to protect the team’s mental design has been filed. And a celebration for the collaborators to fulfill, electric bug zapper zapper for backyard in-person, will be deliberate as soon as it's secure to do so. Until then, the Bug Zapper will probably be arduous at work, cordless bug zapper helping to guard the frontline workers at St. Luke’s and past. This, like so many different stories, affords a ray of hope throughout the pandemic - showcasing that the human thoughts and spirit can overcome something - especially when working together for an excellent cause. Afterall, as the famous philosopher Plato understood 1000's of years in the past, necessity is the mother of invention. Founded in 1872, St. Luke's University Health Network (SLUHN) is a fully integrated, regional, non-revenue network of more than 15,000 employees offering providers at 11 hospitals and 300 outpatient sites. With annual web income greater than $2 billion, the Network’s service space consists of 11 counties: Lehigh, Northampton, Berks, Bucks, Carbon, Montgomery, Monroe, Schuylkill and Luzerne counties in Pennsylvania and Warren and Hunterdon counties in New Jersey.