Low-Cost Drug Refrigeration

Problem Statement

A consistent supply of electricity in lower to middle income countries (LMIC) is not guaranteed, which puts strain on essential areas such as hospitals and clinics. An inconsistent electrical supply in hospitals and clinics causes a myriad of problems, ranging from machine outage to lack of water and light. Particularly, refrigeration is especially important in preventing the degradation of drugs, samples, and biomaterials. Proper refrigeration is essential for the storage of life-saving drugs and research samples, yet the process of modern refrigeration consumes high amounts of electricity. To address this problem, our team is developing a refrigerator capable of storing drugs between 2° to 8°C while using minimal electricity.

Click here for a short video summary of the drug refridgeration issue and our proposed solution!

Current Progress

Currently, we are perusing research literature in order to gather a preliminary list of insulation materials, cooling methods, electrical and non-electrical components, and mechanisms needed to create a prototype.