With $170K in added profit and $30K in recruiting savings, AidQuest’s human-powered engagement tools are redefining growth for home care agencies.

BURLINGAME, Calif., May 21, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Visiting Angels of Carlisle, a leading provider of senior home care services in Pennsylvania, has significantly increased profitability and streamlined caregiver recruitment after adopting AidQuest’s Human-Powered Live Chat and SCHEDULE+ solutions. Over 24 months, the agency generated an additional $170,000 in net profit, hired caregivers who provided thousands of hours of care, and cut recruiting costs by $30,000 annually — all while enhancing the experience for families and applicants alike.

Faced with the challenges of high advertising costs and competition for qualified caregivers, Visiting Angels of Carlisle turned to AidQuest to engage website visitors in real time. The agency deployed AidQuest’s Human Live Chat, staffed by professional chat agents who interact directly with prospective clients and caregivers. These agents provide instant answers, collect detailed intake information, and schedule consultations and interviews using SCHEDULE+, AidQuest’s concierge appointment-setting tool.

“AidQuest has been a remarkable solution to help our agency grow and hire new recruits,” said Richard Ruda, Director and Owner of Visiting Angels of Carlisle. “The addition of a human live chat interface on our website has had a significant impact — an additional $170K of profit plus thousands of hours of care provided by the caregivers hired from AidQuest applicants.”

In addition to recruitment gains, AidQuest’s client leads have directly contributed to a stronger bottom line and greater care delivery. Since starting with AidQuest, Visiting Angels of Carlisle has received 130 pre-screened client leads from AidQuest’s human-powered chat — converting many into active cases that generated $170,000 in net profit. These conversions translated into thousands of hours of care provided to seniors in need, enabling the agency to serve more families without increasing marketing spend.

“It’s been a game-changer for our growth efforts,” added Kristy Saphore, Senior Client Care Coordinator. “We’re saving money, getting better client and caregiver leads, and filling positions faster — all without relying on expensive job boards.”

AidQuest’s solutions now power over 700 home care agencies across the U.S. and Canada, enabling more than 1 million live human interactions and generating over 100,000 qualified leads. By combining real-time engagement with intelligent concierge scheduling, AidQuest is setting a new standard for how elder care providers grow and thrive in a digital-first world.

About AidQuest
AidQuest provides human-powered chat and concierge scheduling tools for the home care industry. Its mission is to help agencies convert more visitors into clients and caregivers through intelligent engagement and real-time human connection. Learn more at www.aidquest.com.

About Visiting Angels of Carlisle
For over 20 years, Visiting Angels of Carlisle has provided compassionate in-home care to seniors across Franklin, Adams, and Cumberland counties in Pennsylvania. Led by Director Richard Ruda, the agency is committed to helping local seniors age with dignity and independence.

Media Contact:
Kamran Nasser
Founder, AidQuest
395574@email4pr.com
www.aidquest.com

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SOURCE AidQuest

MILFORD, Mass., May 21, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT) today announced that it has acquired Halo Labs™, an innovator of specialized imaging technologies to detect, identify, and count interfering materials (particles) in therapeutic products, such as cell, protein, and gene therapies.

The Aura™ platform from Halo Labs features a highly differentiated technology that performs full spectrum particle analysis and is complementary to the Waters light scattering detection solutions from its Wyatt Technology™ Portfolio. For example, its subvisible particle technology unlocks additional insights when characterizing external particles used to amplify CAR T-cells for cell therapy, detecting these translucent process impurities that are currently undetectable by standard methods. By acquiring this innovative company, Waters will be able to integrate this emerging technology into new and existing large molecule development and QA/QC, giving a key value-add to customers while accelerating the Company’s growth into analytical and bioprocessing testing for large molecule therapies.

“Adding the innovative low-sample-volume, high-throughput technology from Halo Labs provides analysis for a broad range of sample types and volumes, enabling earlier insights during therapy development and greater safety during manufacturing,” said Dr. Udit Batra, President and Chief Executive Officer, Waters Corporation. “With the rapid growth of treatments like CAR T-cell therapies, we are investing in the innovation our customers need. Together with our existing Wyatt Technology product lines, this acquisition enhances our leadership position in specialized analytical technologies for emerging biopharma therapies.”

“We are thrilled to join forces with Waters, a company that shares our values of purposeful innovation and customer focus,” said Rick Gordon, Chief Executive Officer, Halo Labs. “This combination accelerates our vision to expand our platform’s reach, enhancing therapeutic development and production while maintaining our unwavering commitment to drug quality and safety. We look forward to driving more groundbreaking advancements that benefit patients worldwide.”

Today’s acquisition of Halo Labs is expected to have a negligible impact on the Company’s income statement over the following 12 months.

About Halo Labs
Halo Labs is a venture-backed scientific instrumentation and consumable company that commercializes high throughput biopharmaceutical formulation, stability, and product quality control tools for aggregate and subvisible particle analysis using state-of-the-art custom optics and image processing techniques. Biopharmaceutical companies around the globe depend on Halo Labs for unprecedented insights into their drug products.

About Waters Corporation 
Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT), is a global leader in analytical instruments, separations technologies, and software, serving the life, materials, food, and environmental sciences for over 65 years. Our Company helps ensure the efficacy of medicines, the safety of food and the purity of water, and the quality and sustainability of products used every day. In over 100 countries, our 7,600+ passionate employees collaborate with customers in laboratories, manufacturing sites, and hospitals to accelerate the benefits of pioneering science.

Halo Labs, Aura, and Wyatt Technology are trademarks of Waters Technologies Corporation.

Contact:
Laura Borland
Senior Director, Business Unit Communications
Waters Corporation
laura_borland@waters.com
+1.302.367.6958

Logo – https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2071755/Waters_Corporation_Logo.jpg 

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99.3% of Colombia’s population lives in areas where air pollution exceeds WHO guidelines, affecting public health, according to the Air Quality Life IndexMariana Pérez’s invention removes CO₂, nitrogen dioxide and sulfur dioxide from the air, converting pollutants into biodegradable materialsPérez is among the ten innovators of the Young Inventors Prize 2025, awarded by the European Patent Office (EPO) on 18 June 2025

MUNICH, May 21, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — According to the Air Quality Life Index, 99.3% of Colombia’s population is exposed to air pollution exceeding WHO safety limits, with average particulate pollution increasing by 52.8% over the past two decades. Colombian entrepreneur Mariana Pérez (27) has developed a system that not only removes CO₂ from the air but also captures nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) and sulfur dioxide (SO₂), which are pollutants linked to respiratory diseases. Her innovative solution has secured her a place among the ten global innovators of the Young Inventors Prize 2025, known as Tomorrow Shapers, selected from 450 candidates by an independent jury.

Mimicking the human respiratory system

Fine particulate matter and harmful gases pose serious health risks, contributing to respiratory diseases and premature deaths. While existing carbon capture technologies primarily target CO₂, Pérez’s invention goes further, capturing additional pollutants. Ecol-Air’s technology is designed to mimic the human respiratory system, using mechanical bronchioles and alveoli to optimise pollutant absorption. It can be installed on chimneys to draw in and process polluted air or used as a free-standing unit to purify ambient air. The captured pollutants are neutralised and processed into biodegradable polymers, which can be used in eco-friendly packaging and industrial materials, like biodegradable bags or tiles.

From childhood curiosity to real-world impact

Pérez’s scientific interest began at the age of eight, when she noticed how rain washed away the residue of vehicle emissions from her father’s car. This curiosity later led her to develop early prototypes, refining them through science fairs and eventually securing investor support. Despite initial scepticism from industries, she installed her devices for free at large factories to prove their efficiency. “There were moments in my journey when I doubted myself. But I believe all scientists need to realise that, while we can create incredible solutions for the planet, health and people, scaling our projects and turning them into businesses is what gives our inventions a real future. We can’t stop at just having an idea; we need to develop it further,” Pérez explained.

Ecol-Air now collaborates with industrial and academic partners. Yamaha Colombia was the first to adopt the system commercially, followed by Sumicol-Corona. In 2023, the first air treatment plant using Ecol-Air technology opened in Girardota (Colombia), processing 70 tonnes of air daily with an 82% efficiency rate, according to the company estimations. The Air Innovation Center, set to open in Barbosa in 2025, is expected to process 497 tonnes of air per day and incorporate public awareness initiatives. To support the international expansion of her company, Pérez recently relocated to the United States.  

The Young Inventors Prize celebrates worldwide innovators 30 and under using technology to address global challenges posed by the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Pérez’s invention supports SDG 3 (Good Health and Well-being), SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities), and SDG 13 (Climate Action) by reducing harmful air pollutants and creating sustainable by-products.

The prizes of the 2025 edition will be announced during a ceremony livestreamed from Iceland on 18 June 2025. 

Find more information (link) about the invention’s impact, the technology and the inventor’s story.

About the Young Inventors Prize

Aimed at individuals 30 and under, the Young Inventors Prize showcases the transformative power of youth-driven solutions and recognises the remarkable young people paving the way to a more sustainable future. Established in 2022, trophies were first handed out during the European Inventor Award ceremony. From 2025 onwards, the Prize will move up a gear with its own dedicated event, held separately from the Award. Among the 10 Tomorrow Shapers selected for each edition, three will be awarded a special prize: World Builders, Community Healers, and Nature Guardians. In addition, a People’s Choice winner, voted by the public online, will be revealed. Each Tomorrow Shaper will receive EUR 5 000, the three special prize winners will each receive an extra EUR 15 000. The People’s Choice winner will be awarded an additional EUR 5 000. Read more on the Young Inventors Prize eligibility and selection criteria.

About the EPO

With 6,300 staff members, the European Patent Office (EPO) is one of the largest public service institutions in Europe. Headquartered in Munich with offices in Berlin, Brussels, The Hague and Vienna, the EPO was founded with the aim of strengthening co-operation on patents in Europe. Through the EPO’s centralised patent granting procedure, inventors are able to obtain high-quality patent protection in up to 46 countries, covering a market of some 700 million people. The EPO is also the world’s leading authority in patent information and patent searching.

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