Project
How do you keep a vaccine from freezing?
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Step 1
Define the Cause
A woman gives a girl an injection as others wait behind her.
Cause:
Health
Vaccine carriers that prevent vaccines from freezing while in transit and yet are low cost and easy to use can save millions of children's lives...Dr. Benjamin Schreiber Deputy Immunization at UNICEF
Step 2
Research & Discover
Background
Cold chain animation by Christoph Niemann, commissioned by The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation as part of The Art of Saving a Life arts initiative.
When vaccines are transported to remote areas they run the risk of being exposed to heat or freezing, which can compromise the vaccine potency, putting those people at risk of disease and harming the reputation and effectiveness of vaccines.
Cold chain animation by Christoph Niemann, commissioned by The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation as part of The Art of Saving a Life arts initiative.
The process of storing and transporting vaccines at the recommended temperatures is called the cold chain. If temperature damage during the cold chain process is suspected, vaccines are often thrown away, which is costly to healthcare programs.
Historically, vaccine-carrier packs have required that frozen ice packs are partially thawed before storing with vaccines. However, thawing is not an exact science. It can take up to an hour, and vaccines can freeze even when stored with thawed ice packs.
Video — Above Zero: Strategies to Prevent Vaccine Freezing
Step 3
Think, Make & Evaluate
Ideation
Two health workers prepare to bring a traditional vaccine carrier onto a boat in order to travel between islands. The new freeze-preventive carrier helps ensure the right temperature in any setting. Photo credit: PATH/Doune Porter.
The carrier would need to be highly durable and protect the vaccines in a variety of extreme climate conditions. It would also need to keep vaccines unharmed no matter the conditions or mode of transportation taken.
Photo credit: PATH
The carrier should eliminate the need for thawing ice packs and the materials used should be readily available and low-cost.
Photo credit: PATH.
PATH worked in their product development shop to design the carrier and received feedback from local communities. PATH would also assist manufacturers around the world in testing and producing carriers that were specific to their environments and the materials available to them.
Step 4
Outcome & Impact
Results
Photo credit: PATH.
PATH designed a carrier that can be used with frozen ice packs, eliminating the need for thawing packs. Allowing the use of frozen packs simplifies preparation and reduces the need for extensive training.
While the ice packs gradually warm, heat is drawn from the surroundings and from the liner. A thin layer of water inside the liner functions as a phase-change material. As the water layer cools, it maintains a temperature inside the vaccine compartment of greater than 0°C (32° F) as the water changes to ice. A layer of foam insulation provides additional protection against freezing.
Reach
A woman gives a boy an injection. Photo credit: PATH.
To help accelerate production, PATH put their design into the public domain for any manufacturer to use. PATH staff in Seattle and New Delhi, India, have provided technical advice to three product manufacturers who have adopted the technology.
In the future, vaccine carriers that prevent freezing will become the new standard for immunization programs.Pat Lennon Leader of Cold Chain team at PATH