We live an exciting period of innovation. Electric cars are being rolled out by mainstream car companies; self-driving vehicles are being road-tested; farms and grocery stores use robots to do repetitive tasks; medical diagnostics is taking just a few minutes or hours to pinpoint an illness; and, many products from dental braces to aerospace components are 3D Printed.
From parts that fly on spaceships to medical devices that are implanted in patients, each of our staff makes a contribution to improving humanity’s quality of life. At Potomac, the cool projects we help our customers bring to life motivate our people to continually innovate advanced manufacturing processes. As Potomac engineer John Ford recently commented: “How exciting is my work? I get to play with lasers that have huge impact on people’s lives around the world. And to do that I am continually trying to improve my work!”
While Potomac manufactures new products in a wide range of industries, fabricating complex microfluidic devices is one of our most gratifying projects. These small biotech systems use tiny amounts of fluids, such as blood or water, to diagnose illnesses or detect contaminants in a timeframe that is orders of magnitude faster than previous methods.
For example, antibiotic susceptibility in patients is a worldwide problem. Delivering the most efficient and effective drug for a
specific infection is essential to ensure fast and accurate treatment leading to easier recovery for the patient. Working with The Israel Institute of Technology [Technion] Potomac has rapid prototyped a diagnostic device that can potentially provide test results within 2 hours. The small 25
mm x 75 mm Lab-on-a-Chip prototype has won a Discovery Award Grant for its innovative approach to improving healthcare outcomes and the highly anticipated prospects for widespread implementation.
Microfluidic devices are also finding new applications in environmental testing. We have built sophisticated tools for analysis of soil and water, expanding sustainability of the Earth. There are also options for testing materials found in space exploration, expanding humanity’s future home possibilities.
Today’s fast pace of change and convergence of disruptive technologies is offering everyone an opportunity to impact the world. This Thanksgiving we especially want to give thanks for being able to be on the ground floor of the breakthroughs now happening that touch so many people’s lives. Happy Thanksgiving from all the innovators at Potomac!
