Living in a time when there is so much chaos, division, and animosity, it is sometimes hard to remember how much we have to be thankful for this Thanksgiving Day. Today, new technologies are disrupting healthcare, space exploration, and climate change at an exponential pace, bringing with them a brighter future for our people and Planet Earth.
At Potomac we are lucky to work with 3D Printers, lasers, CNC machines, automation, and other 21st century tools that are changing the world for the better. A large percentage of our advanced contract manufacturing helps customers answer complex healthcare needs by building a new miniature class of medical devices.
Of particular note, medical professionals are improving the speed and accuracy of point of care diagnostics for better patient treatment success with microfluidic devices. These “Lab-on-a-Chip” tools can quickly analyze a tiny amount of fluid such as blood in minutes or hours instead of days. By accurately diagnosing a health problem, doctors can prescribe exactly the right medicine and avoid delays that can complicate recovery or lead to auxiliary issues.
Using a myriad of advanced manufacturing tools, Potomac has developed sophisticated processes to take microfluidic device fabrication from prototype to high volume production. Perhaps most importantly, our automation systems, including next-generation quality control hardware and software, bring down per-part cost to a place where affordable options are available in hospitals and labs.
It is also gratifying that we are able to kickstart the many startups that are working tirelessly to find new answers to healthcare problems. Along with our technical capabilities to micro-manufacture with high precision, Potomac looks to partner with entrepreneurs when we see strong potential for product success. Working in an iterative process, our digital manufacturing tools allow inventors to design and test ideas in order to ensure optimal product parameters for market entry and early success for their customers.
We are thankful this Thanksgiving that we are able to utilize technology to create new processes that help mankind. Although we cannot solve all the problems plaguing society, we can at least make the world a better place in areas like point of care diagnostics.
Happy Thanksgiving from the Potomac Team!