Necessity is truly the mother of invention and the war against the coronavirus has created a worldwide wave of innovation to fight the pandemic. No need is greater than the protection of healthcare workers, front line support, emergency teams, firefighters, police, and caregivers. With Personal Protective Equipment [PPE] in short supply, Potomac jumped into the front lines. While our main area of focus is micro-manufacturing, we have experience with larger scale production for packaging, fixtures and other related products. Pulling in all our engineering ingenuity, our creative team re-purposed equipment and processes to create much needed, life-saving PPE.
Visors
Face masks worn alone are not as good a barrier as a face mask worn under a protective visor that covers the entire face. Using a variety of standard manufacturing processes from laser machining to precision assembly, we were able to have a design ready quickly and begin production. In partnership with TECLens our first batch of 1,000 visors was donated to Montefiore Hospital in the Bronx, New York and another batch is destined for Sinai Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland. We are now working on a streamlined version of the visor that would be more user-friendly for workers who are already wearing lots more protective gear.
Microfluidic Devices
Of course, microfluidic technology is at the forefront of testing for the highly contagious Coronavirus. Time is of the essence with the Covid-19 disease that it causes for several reasons. An infected person is far more likely to spread the virus than with flu and to a larger number of people. So when a diagnosis is made it is crucial that the infected person immediately be quarantined and treated at the first sign of symptoms. Microfluidic devices are able to cut diagnostic times from days to hours or even minutes, making them especially useful tools in the Coronavirus pandemic. We are excited to contribute to research in this area of urgent need via several groups pioneering new diagnostics.
Contributing to the health and well-being of humankind has always been a hallmark of Potomac’s work. But President and CEO Mike Adelstein adds, “This is a once in a lifetime opportunity for manufacturing companies to pull together our expertise and resources in order to win the war against Coronavirus!”
