Thermoelectric insulation for cold temperature vaccine storage

Abstract

Some of the current vaccines have shown the need to have an infrastructure for cold vaccine storage and distribution. This represents a major logistic challenge for developed countries and a major limitation for underdeveloped ones. This paper proposes the use of thermoelectric devices in the insulation of the boxes being considered for distribution of vaccines with storage requirements near 203 K. We present some initial design considerations and propose a method of use in conjunction with a conventional refrigeration to improve the ability of the box insulation active and passive strategies to maintain the desired storage temperatures.