Scary Flu Season Inspires Invention

Online, November 4, 2009 (Newswire.com) - Atek, Inc. of Santa Ana, California made a timely flu season introduction today of the Touch-Stick, a key-size implement used for hygienically pushing, tapping, and signing store keypads, ATM machines, elevator buttons, gas pump buttons, and other publicly touched electronic devices.

The patent-pending Touch-Stick features a flat round tip for pushing mechanical buttons, a cleverly integrated stylus tip for tapping and signing electronic screens, and key ring compatibility for convenience and high availability.

The product, which is made of a durable polycarbonate ABS plastic blend and is initially available in black, grey, blue, red, and white colors, was invented by Dan Rothman, president of Atek.

According to Mr. Rothman, "The inspiration for this product idea was two observations: first, widespread concern about swine flu, and second, intensified worries about germ transmission on the self-service credit card terminals that have become ubiquitous in retail stores."

Mr. Rothman noted "In the most extreme cases, store clerks told us that some customers refuse to even touch the terminals and ask the clerks to do it for them. Supermarkets have wipes for shopping cart handles but germ protection is not available for point-of-sale machines and other publicly used devices. When we started thinking about how many such devices people touch, even including the handheld electronic pads that courier drivers have you sign, we realized that a product that helps people avoid touching those devices could be a good partial defense against germ transmission. Obviously such publicly used devices are just one of many sources of germs, and the Touch-Stick is not a silver bullet, but the simple effectiveness, low cost, and convenience of the product make it an easy-to-include element in anyone's germ avoidance efforts."

The company stated that although the Touch-Stick does not work on capacitive type electronic touch screens, it works on the lower cost and therefore more commonly used resistive type screens.

Touch-Stick retails for $2.99 and can be purchased online at www.touch-stick.com.