Inventor Regrets Decision to Not Patent Her Handwashing Device as Pandemic Grips Our Planet
The current pandemic outbreak has forced some inventors to lament their lack of will in getting their ground breaking ideas patented in the years prior to the outbreak. This includes an enterprising medical scientist, Veronica Beckeo who previously came up with the idea for buckets fitted with taps for handwashing everywhere.
The crafty device is perfectly suited for far-flung rural areas where running water is a scarcity. Amazingly, she came up with the idea over 30 years ago in Ghana.
Her prototype has found its way churches, schools and hospitals across several African companies.
The buckets are perfect for hand hygiene and the prevention of infections in medical laboratories.
She decided to name the handy medical tool, Veronica Buckets, a play on her name and her love affair with this legendary invention.
The product is now gaining renewed interest in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic and why the inventor FAILED to secure intellectual property protection.
Veronica said her idea was by divine inspiration and involved a simple concoction: Fixing a tap to aluminum utensils sold in markets across Ghana to forge a basic medical basin for laboratories.
“I used aluminum sheets to mold containers and had taps fixed to them. We set them in laboratories and used them to provide running water for handwashing,” she told the publication, Graphics Online.
Unfortunately, her work as a biological chemist kept her busy until all hours of evening which dampened her enthusiasm to undergo the complex patent application.
Her failure to do so, is a source of regret for the charming inventor.
“I am not trying to take advantage of an unfortunate situation with the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) that has resulted in the mass production and use of the buckets everywhere. However, my call is to set out the fact that the invention is mine.”
With regular handwashing now a critical piece of the jigsaw in combating the virus, her invention is seen as powerful tool in helping poorer nations combat its spread.
Several plastic manufacturers now sell versions of her device with their logo emblazoned boldly over its surface.
This is a telling reminder how important patents are to protect the blood, sweat and tears of inventors who contribute to new ideas in the medical community.
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