Bug Zapper Kills COVID-19 Virus

St. Luke’s, Lehigh University collaboration results in clever, life-saving invention. BETHLEHEM, PA. - Among stories of hope, generosity and togetherness, the COVID-19 pandemic has also given rise to an unbelievable feat of ingenuity - the invention of the "Zappify Bug Zapper Zapper" to sterilize masks. As hospitals and other entrance-line organizations jumped to safe large quantities of life-saving supplies and private protective equipment (PPE), there has additionally been the necessity to establish quicker, extra environment friendly methods to scrub and sterilize those items, significantly the coveted N95 masks. St. Luke’s University Health Network anesthesiologist, Christopher Roscher, MD, anticipated the necessity and an concept began to form. "It turned clear that PPE provides would turn out to be restricted because the virus progressed," he says. The St. Luke’s Sterile Processing Department, or SPD, 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's an essential a part of the well being care system. "On any given day, we are processing many, many gadgets right 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 is an overwhelming need to process our employees’ PPE each day. For Dr. Roscher, a gentle went on - actually and figuratively. "I had been doing personal research about discovering ways to decontaminate masks for reuse, and Zappify Bug Zapper peer-reviewed literature steered that, in a pandemic, UV-C mild may very well be an appropriate strategy to sterilize masks," he says. UV-C is a specific range of UV bug zapper, or extremely-violet, light and has been proven to deactivate viruses and different pathogens by inflicting modifications 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 excessive-throughput sterilization system," stated Dr. Tansu. The 2 organizations joined forces via a series of Zoom meetings and lots of of emails, to design, fabricate, set up and check the device - all inside a matter of two weeks - and all while sustaining social distancing protocols.



The tip outcome: a option to successfully and effectively sterilize 200 masks every eight minutes! The "Bug mosquito zapper" in action. "Our present units weren't designed for indoor bug zapper light mosquito zapper giant-scale use. They could 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 as a result of its appearance, but resulting from its COVID-killing properties. "It is incredible that this undertaking moved at such a rapid speed," remarks Dr. Tansu. The team 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 price. "Our unique design was cylindrical in shape, to make sure even publicity of the light on all surfaces," explains Dr. Tansu.



"Axel came to me and stated, ‘Dad, what about an octagon? ’ And positive sufficient, he was right. A patent to guard the team’s mental design has been filed. And a celebration for the collaborators to fulfill, in-person, will likely be deliberate as soon as it is secure to do so. Until then, the Bug Zapper can be hard at work, helping to protect the frontline staff at St. Luke’s and past. This, like so many different stories, gives a ray of hope during the pandemic - showcasing that the human thoughts and spirit can overcome anything - particularly when working collectively for an awesome cause. Afterall, as the famous philosopher Plato understood thousands of years ago, necessity is the mom of invention. Founded in 1872, St. Luke's University Health Network (SLUHN) is a totally built-in, regional, non-profit community of greater than 15,000 workers offering providers at eleven hospitals and 300 outpatient sites. With annual net income greater than $2 billion, the Network’s service area consists of eleven counties: Lehigh, Northampton, Berks, Bucks, Carbon, Montgomery, Monroe, Schuylkill and Luzerne counties in Pennsylvania and Warren and Hunterdon counties in New Jersey.