What: Vaccine Refrigeration in the Face of Variable Power Conditions in Sub-Saharan Africa, or Engineering for Global Health from Kona
Who: Dr. Rod Hinman, Global Health Labs
When: Thursday, January. 21, 2021, 5 p.m.
Where: Virtual (Zoom meeting)
Keeping vaccines at the proper temperature can be a challenge, especially when the power goes out or voltages surge to damaging levels. We will discuss the design of a vaccine refrigerator meant for clinics in the developing world, where interruptions can be common and the voltage variable. Telemetry data from deployed fridges are helping us better understand the power conditions in these settings. We will show analyses of these data and implications for the design of future equipment for health clinics in low- and middle-income countries.
Rod Hinman is a Senior Electrical Engineer at Global Health Labs, a non-profit whose mission is to apply technology to improve health in the developing world. Before that he was part of an energy efficiency software startup, managed a solar test installation, designed fluorescent lamp ballasts that could communicate via light, and designed motor drives for electric vehicles. He has a PhD in Electrical Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Schedule and format:
5 p.m. start. There is less need to wait for people to trickle in after being delayed in traffic, so we're starting on time. The Zoom meeting room will be open at least 10 minutes beforehand.
Pupus: as we will be virtual, feel free to have your own drinks and pupus. Please mute your microphone when crunching on chips!
Zoom link: email Rod Hinman, and I'll send you the link. I will also have the link in the announcement email sent to people on the mailing list. Scroll to the bottom of this page and subscribe!
Image of Msemba clinic, Democratic Republic of Congo, courtesy of John Beale.
The power quality analysis paper that I discussed in the presentation:
