Do you store vaccines and medicines correctly?

Disease is not good. Getting sick is bad. But man is so arranged that people have been ill, are ill and will fall ill for a very long time, and a cure for all diseases is still the lot of science fiction and folk tales. Some 300 years ago, a trip to the doctor could end with bloodletting, mercury ointment and irreparable consequences from these procedures. But, fortunately, we live in a time when it is still better for a patient to see a doctor than to run away from them. And even better – to prevent diseases by vaccinating.

Numerous medical associations, research institutes and centers continue to insist that vaccination is the most effective method for preventing infectious diseases. Most vaccines are fairly easy to administer, widely available and well studied. They all have one serious requirement in common – tight control of storage temperature.

Here are excerpts from one manufacturer’s vaccine storage requirements:

• It is very important that the temperature at which vaccines will be stored is maintained within the range of +2 to +8 degrees Celsius.
• Never freeze vaccines supplied in liquid form.
• Never store vaccines in the refrigerator door.
• It is only necessary to systematically check the current temperature in the refrigerator compartment (the temperature must always remain between 2-8 ° C).
• The temperature in the refrigerator must be checked twice a day – in the afternoon and in the evening. Thermometer readings should be recorded in a logbook specially designated for this purpose.
• It is important that the thermostat is well adjusted.

And there are vaccines for which the permissible storage regime is even stricter – from + 2 ° to + 6 ° C.

According to the normative document in force in Ukraine “The procedure for securing good minds, transporting, attracting and collecting vaccines, anatoxin and tuberculosis allergen in Ukraine”, both industrial and household refrigerators are allowed to be used when storing vaccines. But what if suddenly there was an abnormal shutdown of refrigeration equipment? After all, if, due to the disturbed temperature regime, the vaccine becomes unusable, it will incur a direct loss. We have already considered how to monitor the condition of industrial refrigerators, but what to do with household refrigerators?

If a power outage occurs, even the smartest household refrigerator with Bluetooth and WiFi won’t be able to notify you of its condition. No power means no connection, which means the temperature in the refrigerator is out of control.

The Internet of Things comes to the rescue with its system of wireless sensors that will inform us about any changes in the state of the equipment. To do this, we need a data transmission network, sensors in the places we need and software that will display information on our computer in clear graphs and tables.

First, you need to provide network coverage in the area with refrigerators. Kerlink base stations for LoRaWAN networks do an excellent job with this task. iFemtocell evolution with two independent connection channels (Ethernet + 3G / 4G) and a backup battery is ready to transmit data with maximum reliability.

When we have coverage, we can proceed to installing the sensors. The first step is to install a temperature sensor inside the refrigerator. We have already mentioned such sensors on our blog earlier.

R718A
Protection level IP65

Netvox R718A is a sensor specially designed for measuring the temperature inside refrigerators and freezers. The Sensirion SHT-35 thermistor allows you to monitor temperatures from -40 ° C to + 55 ° C with an accuracy of ± 0.3 ° C and a relative humidity of 0% -100% with an accuracy of ± 2%. Thanks to the magnetic base, the sensor can be attached to the wall of the refrigerator without additional fasteners, without violating the integrity of the refrigerator compartment.

Smart socket R809A01F

Netvox R809A01F is a smart socket that detects voltage, current, consumption, presence or absence of power supply to the refrigerator. The combination of these parameters will regularly notify us whether the refrigerator is connected to the mains, whether there is electricity in the mains now, and what is the power consumption of the device. Alternatively, you can use the simpler Netvox R718N1 device – a single-phase non-contact current meter. It will only show if the refrigerator consumes electricity or not.

Reed switch R311A

Finally, Netvox R311A must be installed to monitor the open refrigerator door. This is a simple device with a reed switch inside. The counterpart is a magnet that closes the reed switch contacts. As soon as the door is opened, the magnet is retracted to a distance at which it can no longer close the contacts. The sensor sends a message that the door is open to the server.

Siren R602A

For complete confidence, you can also connect the Netvox R602A wireless siren, which will alert employees with sound and light indication of an emergency situation with refrigerators.

Thingsboard software can be used to visualize each message from the sensors. This platform will help to display all information on the screen of a computer, tablet or phone in the form of graphs and alarm indicators. It will also provide reports on the accumulated statistics, and promptly notify the responsible employees through external applications, for example, mail or instant messengers.

And since we started talking about messengers, then subscribe to our Telegram t.me/iotji, because there you will be the first to get acquainted with our new projects to automate your work. And don’t forget to follow our Facebook page @iotji.io, where you can also contact us if you are interested in our offers.