In a country like Nigeria where power is unreliable and in some areas virtually non-existent, keeping vaccines cool until they reach patients is a major challenge for healthcare practitioners leading to situations where children die from diseases that existing vaccines could prevent due to non-availability of such vaccines because they can’t be preserved until they are used. According to the World Health Organisation, WHO, more than one million children die each year from vaccine-preventable diseases.
A new patented “super thermos” aims to solve this challenge. IMEDReads in conjunction with Global Good and AUCMA recently at a formal launch in Lagos, introduced into the Nigerian market, this new revolutionary passive vaccine storage device called Arktek. Arktek is based on proven technology used for decades to protect spacecraft from temperature extremes and is a super-insulated container optimized to safely store vaccines between 0°C to 10°C for 35 days and more using only ice packs.
Arktek mends gaps in the refrigerated vaccine supply chain called the “cold chain”. Breaks in the cold chain occur because power is unreliable or minimal in many places. Also, many people live in places that cannot be reached by refrigerated transport. These gaps make it impossible to keep the vaccines fresh, and thus render them unusable in less than a week’s time. In 2008, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation challenged Intellectual Ventures to help fix the cold chain problem. The resulting collaborative effort, spearheaded by Global Good resulted in Arktek. Global Good is a collaboration between the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Intellectual Ventures to develop technologies that address some of the developing world’s toughest problems.) Intellectual Ventures is a private company that centers on the development and licensing of intellectual property and is one of the top-five owners of U.S. patents.
Arktek’s key features include no external power required – only ice, over one month of vaccine storage for each ice pack replenishment, automated temperature monitors to ensure safe storage and easy to use with minimal maintenance and it requires no installation or set-up time. The device is manufactured by Aucma, one of the global leading manufacturers for Refrigeration, Environmental EV and Household Appliances. The formal presentation of Arktek into Nigeria attracted executives of IMEDReads, and personalities from the medical sector in Nigeria. IMEDReads uses its technology to help patients in developing countries have access to complete, quality, standardised radiology laboratory testing and was introduced into Nigeria by its US-based Nigerian CEO, Ed Akenzua who is also an advisor to Global Good.
