Children born in underdeveloped countries are surrounded by disease and treacherous conditions. Medical professionals do not have the required equipment to administer the appropriate vaccines to keep their patient free from disease. KPN want to ensure the wellbeing of all children, so in collaboration with B Medical System, KPN’s IoT connectivity have sought a monitoring and cooling device to assure the quality of vaccines.
KPN know that vaccines, by their nature, are extremely sensitive and can be damaged by a number of factors including temperature. Once vaccines have exceeded a certain temperature, they lose their potency. KPN realises that countries like Nigeria suffer from vaccine issues as many of the vaccines are made outside of the country and are exposed to the harsh conditions and the high heat while being transported to regions that need them most. When the vaccines are delivered under these conditions, the product is rendered useless. Even if they are delivered in perfect condition, vaccines can also be destroyed if stored in an unsuitable environment. Having safe storage is vital for providing the necessary procedures.
B Medical Systems started the process by devising a series of compression ice-lined refrigerators and freezers to transport vaccines in order to deal with demanding conditions. Even with an absence of electricity, these absorbent refrigerators can rely on other sources like solar power, liquified gas and/ or kerosene. To develop their product, B Medical Systems needed a reliable partner with strong global connectivity. KPN was their obvious choice. The addition of KPN’s ‘logger’ which is easily attached to the existing containers can monitor and control a vaccines condition while on voyage. And when set-up in under equipped areas, these containers can safely store vaccines for future use.
Exceeding that, KPN’s loggers contain the technology to regulate temperatures to a vaccines optimum while also encompassing a GPS to accurately detect the location of the product. Another unique feature of KPN’s IoT connectivity’s collaboration, is the ability to deal with a crisis. If any issues were to arise, a SMS is sent to technicians who can fix the problem immediately. In this way, KPN can be confident that the vaccines will remain safe and available for future use.
As KPN devised the new technology to be user friendly, local administrators in these developing regions are able to use the technology to track, in real time, that the vaccines are in full working condition and are able to ensure protection to all those who receive them. Success by KPN has been seen, with the system implemented to eliminate cases of Polio in Nigeria, proving to be a major milestone in the goal of reaching a disease free society. Future plans see the eradication of certain diseases in Congo, with more countries sure to be on the horizon. Therefore, through the advances of KPN’s IoT connectivity technology, lives have and will continue to be saved.