For one of our Tribe 12 Fellows, her work may be the difference between life and death.
Noga entered the Tribe 12 Fellowship with the goal of solving the problem of social isolation. She was raised on a Kibbutz (collective farming community) overlooking the Dead Sea in Israel. The Kibbutz upbringing establishes community as a high priority in life, which Noga saw was lacking in the States.
Though her passion for curing loneliness is still strong, the current pandemic necessitated a shift in her focus. In March, the public was notified to start social distancing to flatten the curve of the Covid-19 pandemic. While watching the news one night, Noga learned of the low numbers of ventilators and how doctors would have to make hard choices about resource distribution. In other words, if a patient had a lower chance of survival, they might not receive a ventilator.
Noga, the chief of staff to the CEO of a data analytics and healthcare company in the Philadelphia area, contacted her two partners at VeriTX, a startup that specializes in digital supply chain for air space and planes. VeriTX’s focus would be the best and quickest solution to the problem of how to get more ventilators into hospitals.
Collectively, Noga and her partners figured out that by leveraging existing CPAP and BiPap technology with several key innovations, they could turn a common bedside helper into a life-saving tool for those in critical condition. VeriTX quickly pivoted to form Rapid Medical Parts.
Embodying the spirit of rapid prototyping, the team sent the specifications to an engineering team in Los Angeles, who produced a working model a week later. Noga and her partners are now trying to secure investment partners so they can establish a commitment of funding to create and rapidly scale the design. At the same time, these changemakers will be bringing their prototype to the FDA for approval, a necessary first step before being able to manufacture and distribute the technology to health systems, governments, and non-profit organizations. Noga’s work is a great example of the global effort to flatten the curve and protect the lives of those most vulnerable with the tools we have at our disposal.
We are incredibly proud to see our Fellows use their skills for the betterment of the community. At the end of the day, we are nothing without each other. Contact Noga at noga@veritx.com if you can help with this life-saving work.
