Recently, PATH was privileged to host Patty Murray, US senator from Washington State, at our Seattle headquarters. Senator Murray met with PATH president and CEO Steve Davis and chief strategy officer Amie Batson and toured our product development shop and laboratory.
In PATH’s shop, the group discussed PATH’s work on a low-cost electrochlorinator for water purification. Originally developed by Seattle-based Cascade Designs, Inc., the device requires only a power source—usually a battery—along with salt and water to create a concentrated chlorine solution. Chlorine added to water inactivates bacteria, viruses, and some protozoa, making it safer to drink.
PATH staff member Jesse Schubert shows the senator elements of a prototype electrochlorinator, which has been field tested in Korogocho, Kenya, and redesigned based on that feedback. Photo: PATH/Patrick McKern.
This technology was originally developed by Cascade, and improved with support from congressional appropriations championed by Senator Murray, in a project that outfitted 20,000 US Marines with an effective on-the-move water purification system. The PATH collaboration is focused on reducing the unit cost and increasing the capacity of the device, for use in low-resource settings where poor water quality has a huge impact on health.
Faster diagnosis, faster treatment
After donning lab coats, the group toured PATH’s laboratory, where they learned about progress on several next-generation health innovations, including a project funded by the US National Institutes of Health to develop a rapid assay to diagnose infants infected by HIV.
PATH’s Amie Batson and Steve Davis (left and right) host Senator Patty Murray (center) at PATH’s Seattle headquarters. Photo: PATH/Patrick McKern.