challenge
Keeping vaccines safe with smart cold chain technology
challenge
Keeping vaccines safe with smart cold chain technology
Disease rates are low in the United States today. But if we let ourselves become vulnerable by not vaccinating, a case that could touch off an outbreak of some disease that is currently under control is just a plane ride away. This is why it's important to ensure that immunizations make it to their destinations around the world. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 56% of cold chain equipment in low and middle income countries is poorly functioning or non-functional. Improving tech that keeps these vaccines cold and alerts providers to any issues can save billions of lives, directly and indirectly.
ColdTrace is a system developed by Nithya Ramanathan, Martin Lukac and Ian Leong with support from the likes of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Google and The World Bank, which aims to solve the problem.
A temperature sensor probe is placed inside a vaccine refrigerator, and connects to a nearby ColdTrace device, usually mounted on the wall. The device uploads temperature and grid power availability to a server, which sends SMS messages to key personnel like nurses, managers and maintenance technicians when the fridge starts to fail.