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

By HospiMedica International staff writers
Posted on 07 Oct 2020

Researchers have developed a new portable temperature regulating device that could be used to transport a wide array of temperature-sensitive items, including organs, vaccines and pharmaceuticals, and particularly solve the problem of transporting COVID-19 vaccines.

A team of researchers from Western University (Ontario, Canada) designed, developed and constructed the scalable device which could also prove invaluable for the restaurant and retail grocery industries with a capacity to effectively deliver items from businesses-to-consumer - at target temperatures - for the entire food supply chain.

Image: High angle illustration of portable temperature regulating device, developed by team at Western University (Photo courtesy of Western University)

The devices currently available in the market (with improper temperature-regulating technologies) can cause deterioration or loss of items, and may have a significant negative impact on human health. 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.

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Western University