'Inside-the-Box' Technology to Solve COVID-19 Vaccine Transportation Problem

Traditional devices are built without controls and have difficulty sustaining a fixed temperature (hot or cold). The new device developed by Western University researchers can be controlled and maintained at a constant-set point temperature independent of the surrounding temperatures for an extended period of time. The device also has the capability to vary the temperature to different set points for different time durations during transportation. There is also no need for an external electrical source, and it can also be controlled and monitored remotely.

According to the researchers, the new device uses ‘phase change materials’ to release and absorb sufficient energy during transport to provide appropriate levels of heating and cooling to the stored items to maintain the required temperature. Temperature requirements for safe and effective vaccine transport are quite narrow, especially for COVID-19 vaccines currently under development around the world.

“Our device may be one of the only options available to meet the strict criteria for worldwide vaccine transport,” said Steven Jevnikar, a former graduate student and now a research associate at Lawson Research Institute.

Related Links:
Western University