Product design company battles against airborne pathogens

SARASOTA — Robrady, a Sarasota-based product design company, recently teamed up with emergency physicians at SafER Medical Products LLC to bring their invention of a portable negative pressure ULPA (ultra low particulate air) filtration system to life. 

“Whenever we’re presented with the opportunity to save lives,” Rob Brady, CEO and design director of Robrady, tells Coffee Talk, “why wouldn’t we do it?”

The product development process was made easy, he says, from the insight the team of physicians provided. The physicians at SafER Medical were inspired by the pandemic to invent a system that battled against airborne pathogens. 

The SafER system, a face shield that uses a vacuum to direct the flow of air, provides defense against exposure and spread of airborne contaminants. A study showed the shield removes over 93% of 0.5 micron-sized particles that are exhaled.

“Many common life-saving procedures that have been done for decades in medical care have been severely restricted during the pandemic due to the danger of contaminating the healthcare providers who are performing these treatments,” says Rick Blubaugh, board-certified emergency physician and inventor, in a press release. “We could not stand by and watch without doing something that changed the situation for our patients and colleagues.  This allows us to get back to safely delivering that care when it is needed most.”  

The SafER system is FDA listed. Currently, it’s being used by several hospitals and EMS agencies. The SafER and Robrady teams are determined to deliver the system across the country and globally. 

The system can be helpful in any healthcare setting for administering patient care, lifesaving respiratory treatments and procedures or during patient transport. Currently, the system's main customer base is focused on the medical field in commercial, military and government capacities. 

“We saw this as a real need,” says Brady. “And we delivered a real solution.”