OTTAWA -- A small aluminum device that fits in your hand could be the tool to help you avoid germs during the COVID-19 pandemic.

It can be used to turn on lights. press buttons, it works on touchscreens and its patent pending design has a twist, it can open doors with round-style knobs thanks to a durable rubber insert.

It's called the LINC. The lightweight creation is opening the door to an opportunity for Ottawa machinist Troy Crosby to help others stay safe during a pandemic.  

"Any step we can do to eliminate the germ transfer is a step forward to getting us living normally."

The LINC fits in your hand to reduce contact on surfaces. For added protection, there's an anti-microbial coating to help eliminate picked up viruses.

Crosby says the micro-polymer topcoat is working 24 hours a day, helping destroy any germs that make their way into the LINC, adding that it will last for years preventing the growth of microbes as well as spreading them. 

What is growing around Crosby's tool are jobs numbers. At Excel Precision Machining, where Crosby works, the company deals in aerospace fabrication, an industry hit hard by the pandemic.  The 3000 LINC units that are made so far have put people to work at the shop. Five other Canadian companies are benefitting as well. 

"This product is made 100 per cent in Canada so when you're buying this product you're helping all our fellow Canadians keep food in the table and that's really important to us," said Crosby.

A Kickstarter campaign for the link will be launched Aug. 26. There will be a variety of colours to choose from and customers who order the nifty new hand-tool can expect their delivery in early September.