LoRaWAN in medicine - storage of temperature-sensitive drugs
Reliable network connectivity and accurate data
As a result of the events of recent years, the IoT market is facing new and previously unknown challenges. IoT solutions for human contact tracking, social distance and continuous health monitoring are being deployed and integrated in healthcare facilities, workplaces and densely populated locations around the world. In addition, the logistical requirements of mass drug distribution have also created an opportunity to leverage IoT solutions to streamline drug distribution.
CHALLENGE
The invention of a new vaccine or drug is the hard work of dozens of scientists. In addition to creating an effective and proven medical agent, a major problem later will be its global distribution. This poses a unique challenge, as many preparations require storage at extremely low temperatures - both during transport and storage.
SOLUTION
To make sure that drugs or vaccines are stored properly, uninterrupted insight into environmental conditions, including but not limited to ambient temperature, is necessary. In response, Pilot Things has developed an end-to-end LoRaWAN solution called Vaccine Guardian to track the storage temperature of drugs (such as vaccines) in real time. Pilot Things has developed a user-friendly application that allows quick and easy visualization of temperature data and notification of potential problems. To feed the data into the app, Pilot Things has partnered with TEKTELIC, which provides reliable network connectivity and accurate measurements - specifically using TEKTELIC's TUNDRA sensor and KONA Micro IoT gateway.
TEKTELIC TUNDRA is a sensor that works in any conditions. Its flexible operating temperature (from -40°C to +60°C) and 10-year battery life allow the device to collect accurate environmental data for a long time.
This information is then downloaded by KONA Micro's 8-channel LoRaWAN® gateway, which offers "Always On" connectivity - with four hours of battery backup, in case of power loss. This important feature is critical at the time of an outage - it eliminates downtime in the transmission of key data from all sensors in use.
The Vaccine Guardian solution displays real-time data, informing us live about the storage conditions of medical supplies. The application thus allows us to react quickly to environmental changes to ensure maximum safety and effectiveness of each dose of medicine.
PROPOSAL
With Vaccine Guardian, medical centers, warehouses and pharmacies can track the storage temperature of preparations using a smartphone, for example, in real time and receive alerts on abnormal temperatures, among other things.
The benefits of the Vaccine Guardian solution are:
- Ease of use - installation of the sensor does not require a complicated wired connection. In addition, it can be placed in any type of refrigerator.
- Speed of operation - you can check the temperature in real time and receive notifications to your mobile devices.
- Reports historical temperature values.
- Uninterrupted availability - TEKTELIC KONA Micro Gateway ensures that data is always collected and gathered - even in the event of a power failure - providing the most reliable and accurate data.