PRIDE Industries Partners with 3rd Stone Design to Build Life-Saving Medical Devices

Roseville, Calif. – PRIDE Industries, the nation’s leading employer of people with disabilities, has been selected as a medical device manufacturing partner by 3rd Stone Design to deliver a life-saving device for infants in developing countries. The social enterprise will accordingly build, assemble, and kit 3rd Stone Design’s newest product, BiliDx. This medical device measures bilirubin to screen for jaundice in infants. Additionally, the product’s high-quality, low-cost design enables it to be used in developing countries. As a result, its use helps to raise the standard of health care in those areas.

“We are so grateful to be working with PRIDE Industries again,” said Robert Miros, founder of 3rd Stone Design. “Over the past 10-plus years we have had many meaningful collaborations with PRIDE Industries which have allowed our business to produce medical products for newborns and mothers. These products have saved millions of lives.”

An Ongoing Partner for Medical Device Manufacturing

Previously, PRIDE Industries built and shipped another important health product for 3rd Stone Design—the Pumani CPAP. This class II medical device is a low-cost respiratory solution for infants in developing countries. With over 1,000 units in 35 countries, the Pumani CPAP tripled the survival rate of babies with respiratory distress syndrome. Additionally, the Million Lives Club recently recognized it for its impact in improving the lives of those subsisting on less than $5 a day.

“At PRIDE Industries, we feel honored to be part of 3rd Stone Design’s mission to save lives by designing and delivering essential medical devices,” said Tony Lopez, Vice President of Manufacturing and Logistics Services for PRIDE Industries. “Our workforce of people with disabilities love working on projects that help vulnerable populations around the world. The Pumani CPAP has had a huge impact wherever it’s been used, and I’m sure BiliDx System will as well.”

Saving Lives Across the Globe

Neonatal jaundice affects approximately 24 million newborns each year. In high-resource settings, tools to measure serum bilirubin levels are readily available. These tools, though, have proven too expensive and complex to implement widely in developing countries. 3rd Stone Design’s BiliDx System, however, is a low-cost, battery-powered reader. The device immediately measures serum bilirubin levels from a small drop of whole blood applied to an inexpensive, disposable lateral flow strip.

Now, as a result of 3rd Stone Design’s selection of PRIDE Industries as a medical device manufacturing partner, individuals with disabilities will help build, package, and ship these lifesaving devices.

“PRIDE Industries has been an extraordinary partner in helping us scale and produce specially designed medical products for mothers and newborns in underserved communities throughout the globe,” said Miros.

Hadleigh Health Technologies, a subsidiary of 3rd Stone Design, manufactures and sells the Pumani CPAP and BiliDx System. Find out more about the individual products at www.hadleighhealth.com.