IIT, Ropar has developed India’s first-of-its-kind IoT device, AmbiTag, to record real-time ambient temperature during the transportation of vaccines, perishable products and even body organs and blood. The device records the temperature variation observed from the time of initiation till delivery to provide info on the usability of transported goods.
Professor Pushpendra P Singh, AWaDH Project Director, said the Technology Innovation Hub is all set to mass-produce AmbiTag. He said the device will be given to companies involved in COVID vaccine transportation supply chain– from production facilities to the last mile vaccination centers at the production cost of Rs. 400.
AmbiTag is shaped like a USB device and can continuously record the temperature of its immediate surroundings from -40 to +80 degrees in any time zone for a period of 90 days on single charge.
“Most of the similar devices available in the international market record data only for the duration of 30- 60 days”, said AWaDH Project coordinator, Dr Suman Kumar.
The device has been developed under the aegis of Technology Innovation Hub – AWaDH (Agriculture and Water Technology Development Hub) and its Startup ScratchNest. The new IoT device is a step forward for Atma Nirbhar Bharat.
AWaDH is a Government of India project. The Department of Science and Technology (DST) and the Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB) have played a crucial role in the establishment of AWaDH.
Managing cold chain
More than 39 percent of vaccines produced each year are wasted in developing countries due to breaches and inefficiencies in the cold chain system. Vaccines may be lost or rendered worthless due to poor storage techniques during the time it may take to reach a healthcare facility.
An average of around 6.5% of Covid vaccines is getting wasted in India. Though India has improved its cold chain infrastructure to make it easier to transport vaccines across the country, it still needs to invest more in logistics.
Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin and Oxford-AstraZeneca’s Covishield – the two vaccines currently administered in India, must be stored, handled and transported at temperatures within a range of 2 to 8 degrees Celsius from the point of manufacturing to administration. Sputnik V, the latest entrant, requires a storage temperature of -18 degree.
A team from Bangladesh came up with a real-time data-centric solution to address the challenges in the cold chain logistics–for preserving vaccines and minimising wastage. The team created an automated cold chain monitoring system with sensor networks measuring temperature and humidity and LDRs (light-dependent resistors) to track the temperature and location of vaccine carriers.
The system can keep track of trips and share the required information with healthcare supervisors via a mobile application — all in a single platform. This ensures openness, minimises errors and provides real-time monitoring of status, route, and type of vaccines throughout the transportation process. The supervisor also gets alerts as soon as the temperature goes out of the recommended range of 2 to 8 Celsius.
Wrapping up
The cold-chain infrastructure is critical as India is reeling under the second COVID-19 wave. Vaccines are extremely sensitive and should be stored at stipulated temperature. It is important to maintain the potency of the vaccine to avoid wastage. Vaccine wastage will only exacerbate the vaccine shortage problem India is currently facing.
Maintaining an efficient cold-chain system is important to flatten the curve. AmbiTag will help in avoiding the vaccine shortage through data driven solutions.
