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 also given rise to an unimaginable feat of ingenuity - the invention of the "Bug Zapper" to sterilize masks. As hospitals and different front-line organizations jumped to safe massive portions of life-saving supplies and UV bug zapper for patio zapper private protecting equipment (PPE), there has also been the necessity to establish faster, more environment friendly methods to scrub and sterilize those gadgets, particularly the coveted N95 masks. St. Luke’s University Health Network anesthesiologist, Christopher Roscher, MD, anticipated the need and an concept began to kind. "It became clear that PPE provides would grow to be restricted as the virus progressed," he says. The St. Luke’s Sterile Processing Department, or SPD, is the place the place 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 a necessary part of the well being care system. "On any given day, we're 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 scenario, there may be an overwhelming must process our employees’ PPE every day. For Dr. Roscher, a mild went on - actually and figuratively. "I had been doing non-public research about discovering methods to decontaminate masks for reuse, and peer-reviewed literature prompt that, in a pandemic, UV bug zapper-C mild could possibly be an appropriate technique to sterilize masks," he says. UV-C is a specific range of UV, or ultra-violet, mild and has been proven to deactivate viruses and different pathogens by inflicting changes of their DNA. Through a mutual contact, Dr. Roscher obtained 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," said Dr. Tansu. The 2 organizations joined forces by a series of Zoom meetings and lots of of emails, to design, fabricate, install and take a look at the machine - all within a matter of two weeks - and all while sustaining social distancing protocols.

The tip end result: a way to effectively and efficiently sterilize 200 masks every 8 minutes! The "[Zappify Bug Zapper official](https://fakenews.win/wiki/Zappify_Bug_Zapper:_The_Ultimate_Solution_For_Mosquito_And_Insect_Control?------WebKitFormBoundaryirf2qFtZ4dYqefaJ%0D%0AContent-Disposition:%20form-data