Page 27 - 2022 Westchester County Economic Development Guide

says Rosenberg, who is a resident of Lewisboro. “Healthcare workers wear these masks for much longer than they were initially intended, resulting in scabs, bruising, and peeling skin. It was high time for the next iteration.”
After assembling a team of bio- medical engineers, designers, and material scientists, they sought feed- back from clinicians, asking them to envision their “ideal replacement” for the disposable N95.
DESIGNED BY USERS
After a year of developing prototypes and gathering feedback, Canopy has a product available for purchase that “exceeds all of the federal safety standards,” according to Rosenberg.
The Canopy Respirator is a transparent, fully mechanical, non-electrostatic device with a filter designed for superior breathability that allows people to see the wearer’s face and read their lips. The breakthrough respirator features extraordinary breath- ability, two-way filtration and can be disinfacted within 60 seconds. It re- sists fluids and eliminates fogging of eyeglasses.
Though its flagship product will be for people in high-risk professions, like emergency medicine and ICU prac- titioners, a consumer-oriented version is under development.
ACCOLADES
The Respirator has advanced to the final stages of the Biden Administration’s “Mask Innovation Challenge.” Out of nearly 1,500 entrants, Canopy’s product is currently one of 40 finalists, compet- ing against teams from MIT, Harvard and Johns Hopkins.
In late 2021, Canopy was named the winner of this year’s RISE Innovation Award winner at INDA's virtual RISE conference. The annual award recognizes innovation in the nonwo- vens industry which use advanced scienceandengineeringprinciplesto
develop unique or intricate solutions to problems and advance the usage of nonwovens.
Distinctions such as these give Rosenberg confidence in the fast- evolving respirator market. “We are in a strong position from a commercial viability perspective and look forward to a successful 2022.”
Adds Rosenberg, “Westchester has been a great place to launch our business. The proximity to excellent medical centers and a robust local and state-wide innovation ecosystem are veryattractive.”
“Our current home is at BioInc@NYMC... it’s been great for us location-wise and facilities-wise; the smaller lab spaces have scaled with us and kept us efficient with our spending and kept our organization right sized, which is key for a new entrepreneurial venture.” —Barry Kappel, Ph.D., M.B.A.
WESTCHESTER COUNTY ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT GUIDE 25
© Courtesy of Canopy 2021
© Courtesy of Canopy 2021