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The shortage of sterile masks and other personal protective equipment (EPP) for health workers forced hospitals and academic researchers to think outside the box and look in their garden. In Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, for example, researchers at St. Luke Hospital and Lehighs collaborated to invent aUV light device Nicknamed the "bug zap" to sterilize theirN95 masks coveted. The sterilization tool is capable ofDisabling coronaviruses Using UV-C light, a specific ultraviolet light range that is germicidal.

Christopher Roscher, MD, the anesthesiologist of the Saint-Luc de Saint-Luke, a private search for private research to find ways toDecontaminate masks for reuse. "Peer-examined literature suggested that in a UV-C pandemic lamp could be an acceptable strategy forSterilize the masks, "he says in a press release from Saint-Luc.

Roscher held out his hand toNelson Tansu, PhD, Director of the Center of Photonics and the Nanoelectronics of Lehigh University, to explore the idea. In the two weeks, Lehigh students and designed staff, manufactured, installed and tested the device, which looks like a "huge mosquito of the Zapper Court".

Team students, doctoral students and MDS-have developed a cylindrical design shape to ensure an even exposure of light on all surfaces, but that would have needed health workers to rotate 200 masks 180 degrees to half way of the process. Then the teenage son of Tansu Axel gave him an idea: "What about an octagon?"

The team has redesigned the structure with octagonal sides that allow staff to rotate 24 masks at a time, using only eight touchpoints compared to 200. "It is incredible that this project has been a speed as fast", said Tansu in a statement. "I have been in the world of engineering and innovations for 20 years and this is definitely recorded speed. ''

The innovative device considerably expands the production of sterile treatment of the hospital. "Our existing units have not been designed for large-scale use"Eric Tesoriero, Do, anesthesiologist for St. Luke and a collaborator on the project, said in the liberation. "They could only sterilize about 30 masks at a time." The larger system efficiently sterilizes up to 200 masks in just eight minutes-or 25 masks a minute - that allowed the hospital to provide sterilization of the mask to its EMS and paramedician partners.

UV light germicidal light has been used in hospitals and laboratories for decades toSterilize the equipment And is different from conventional UV rays that can penetrate and damage skin cells and cause skin cancer with overexposure. That's why the experts of theWorld Health Organization (WHO) Let's say that the average person should not use UV light on their skin. "UV lamps should not be used to sterilize hands or other skin areas because UV radiation can cause skin irritation," they note. The amount of UV rays ofThe sunlight had to have an effect on the coronavirus We do not know, but experts indicate heavy rails of death in sunny areas such as Florida, Louisiana and Singapore, which has experienced a recent push in business.

Another form of ultraviolet light is promising. The researchers at the Columbia University's Radiation Research Center are lamps that emit low continuous doses of ultraviolet light called "far UVC", which can kill viruses without harming human tissues. "FAR-UVC light has the potential to be a" play changer ","David Brenner,Radiation Biophysics Professor and director of the radiological research center, said in a press release. "It can be used safely in the busy public spaces and it kills the pathogens in the air before they can breathe them."

Brenner believes that technology can be deployed by one day as luminaires in indoor public spaces such as hospitals, schools, airports and other transport centers. As the "bug zapper" used to disinfect masks at the Saint-Luke hospital, UVC lamps in public places can become one of the few potential solutions for Prevent the propagation of coronavirus while we advance. And for more tips to stay safe in the middle of Covid-19, check 15 expert advice to disinfect your home for coronavirus .