SaluTemp SmartCase

Our solution provides affordable hospital-grade technology that enables safe and efficient at-home medication management for patients.

Biologics are an increasingly important class of medications, accounting for 44% of pharmaceuticals sold in the United States. They are used to treat a variety of conditions ranging from cancer to auto-immune disorders. However, due to their sensitive nature, biologics require stringent storage conditions, including refrigeration and minimal exposure to light, to preserve the potency of the dose and avoid altering the composition of the drug. Unfortunately, studies have found that 90% of patients who rely on biologics store their medication outside the recommended temperature range (Vlieland, 2016). This incorrect storage can be attributed to a lack of knowledge, power outages, and travel, and can lead to safety and efficacy concerns due to the disruption of the chemical composition of the medication.

As a result, an estimated 1.3 million people in the United States suffer from adverse events due to preventable medication errors such as incorrect storage (da Silva et al. 2016). To address this problem, SaluTemp has created a "smart case" which can be used in conjunction with a mobile application to alert users when their medication has been stored incorrectly and if a dose has been missed. This product has been designed with older adults in mind, as the median age of diagnosis for Rheumatoid Arthritis, a disease commonly treated with biologics, is between 45-50 years old (Goemaere et al, 1990). However, it is beneficial for patients of all ages who rely on biologic medications to ensure that their medication is stored correctly.

Our solution is a "smart case" designed to monitor medication storage for individual users of biologics and other temperature-sensitive medications. The user puts their medication into the case, which then continuously sends sensor data regarding the storage conditions to their smartphone. With the accompanying mobile app, users can view ambient conditions and receive alerts when intervention is necessary to keep the medication safe.

The device and application provide visual cues for when the medication reaches an unsafe temperature, and tracks both temperature and light fluctuations. It will alert the user if the medication is being subjected to dangerous temperatures or light exposure, so that it can be rectified before the medication is ruined. We believe that our product has far-reaching implications, not just for biologics, but for other life-saving medications and vaccines as well.

Our solution serves those who rely on biologics to manage their chronic conditions. Biologics are a type of medication that require special refrigeration and storage, and can be quite expensive. This puts a lot of strain on patients who rely on them, as they often need to keep close track of the doses and maintain the refrigeration. Our solution can help alleviate this burden by providing a more efficient and accessible way to manage biologics.

Our device is designed around the needs of our target population, making sure that it is accessible to all users. We have incorporated features such as easy-to-open casing for those with physical impairments, audio aids for those who are visually impaired, and a mobile application for on-the-go access. This gives users greater insight into their biologic intake, allowing them to keep better track of their doses and ensure that their medication is always stored at the correct temperature. Our device also offers peace of mind for both patients and their families, as they can get real-time updates on the progress of their biologics.

Overall, our solution is designed to improve the lives of those who rely on biologics, by giving them more control over their medication and giving them access to resources that make it easier to manage their condition. This can have a profound impact on their quality of life and help to reduce the strain that biologics can place on them.

Our team is uniquely positioned to deliver the solution discussed here, due to a combination of skills, backgrounds, and experiences.

Theodora Christopher is a biology graduate of Northeastern University with experience in organizations such as Boston Children's Hospital and UNC-Chapel Hill Hospital. Through these experiences, she has developed her skills in leadership, organization, and the scientific method, and is the recipient of the inaugural Women Who Empower Award. She is also preparing to pursue her medical degree at UNC School of Medicine in July 2023.

Ben Dottinger is majoring in Health Sciences, and has worked in various health-related settings such as CaNCURE and Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary. Through these experiences, he has gained a better understanding of imminent healthcare needs and a passion for helping patients on both individual and community levels.

Marinos Blanas is a Master's degree student of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Massachusetts in Lowell. He has been doing research in Lowell for the past three years at the Advanced Composite Materials and Textiles Lab, and his expertise will be invaluable in the development of the hardware needed to bring SaluTemp's vision to life.

Our team's combined skills, backgrounds, and experiences put us in a unique position to deliver the solution proposed and to solve the problem. Each member of the team has the necessary skills and knowledge to bring this idea to life, and all four of us understand the experiences of those we serve. In addition, our team is representative of those we serve, as we come from diverse backgrounds with varying expertise.

My interest in developing this technology started from when I heard the story of a fellow classmate. My classmate, “Erica” had traveled abroad to study and while there her dormitory experienced a power outage. This caused her to panic as she had stored her temperature-sensitive medication, a biologic, in the dorm refrigerators. Erica immediately called her doctor in the US who determined that the safest course of action was to discard the medicine since the duration of the power outage was unknown. Erica tried to refill her prescription; however, since she was abroad, she was unable to get a replacement dose and she suffered a flare-up of her psoriatic arthritis. This baffled me. I have taken numerous steps to understand the needs of the population I am hoping to serve with my technology including the National Science Foundation Innovation-Corps Program. I have conducted extensive research on the problem and potential solutions by engaging potential users in the design and development of my solution. Speaking with medical professionals, patients, and drug developers has allowed me to gain insight into the issue and to identify how my solution could be used to help. Through these interactions I have heard stories of patients who must travel long distances every weekend to ensure that their loved one's medication is being maintained at the correct temperature. This has given me a much deeper understanding of the problem and inspired me to further refine my technology. I have already completed two phases of testing, and am now looking to conduct the final phase of testing at Tufts Medical Center. This will enable me to validate the efficacy of my technology, and to ensure that it meets the needs of the population I am hoping to help. Based on all of these interactions my team has assembled a prototype that has already gone through 2 phases of testing, which has helped inform the final form factor. We are hoping to conduct phase 3 testing at Tufts Medical Center with patients who need a device like this one to manage their medication.

Our solution is an innovative and cost-effective approach to temperature-sensitive drug storage and monitoring. The smart case is designed for individual use and is much more user-friendly than industrial solutions. It features an easy-to-use app and allows users to monitor their drugs in real-time via Bluetooth. The app also includes educational components and mediation features to ensure drug safety, unlike other digital thermometers. Furthermore, our solution is far more cost-effective than smart refrigerators, which can cost thousands of dollars. Thus, our solution can be an accessible and cost-friendly option for those of middle and lower income, who are more likely to use biologics and other temperature-sensitive drugs due to inequities in healthcare. We believe this solution can help to catalyze change and open up access to temperature-sensitive drug storage and monitoring for people of all socioeconomic levels, with positive impacts from others in this space.

Our goal for the upcoming year is to finalize our second-wave prototype design by September 2022, complete software upgrades from previous prototype testing by October 2022, and create 10 prototype devices for Phase 3 by November/early December 2022. We plan to conduct large-scale testing outside of Northeastern by December 2022, followed by a small-scale launch and conferences in January 2023. Our ultimate objective is licensing to a large scale company such as OmniCell and working with the World Health Organization (WHO) Global Vaccine Initiative by June 2023.

To achieve these goals, we will be employing an experienced team of engineers, developers, and designers to create the prototypes, as well as leveraging our existing university and industry partnerships for testing and launching. We will also be engaging with the WHO and other stakeholders to ensure the successful implementation of our solution. Additionally, we will be utilizing our expertise in AI and machine learning to optimize the accuracy and efficacy of our prototypes.

Ultimately, our goal is to provide a reliable, easy to use, and cost-effective solution to meet the needs of our users, while also creating a sustainable, scalable impact on the lives of those we serve.

The software prototype app is designed using a mobile framework based on web technologies so that it can function on both Android and iOS phones. The app will primarily communicate with a server hosted on the cloud in order to retrieve sensor measurements and display them to the user. As such, the user can use the prototype to manage their existing SaluTemp hardware devices, set up new ones, and ensure the successful monitoring of their medicine(s). If the prototype app can maintain a connection to the primary device (detailed below), it will also push live sensor data to the database. The ability to switch between receiving data directly from the device to receiving data from the database allows us to support the patients’ in possession of temperature-sensitive medicine as well as any potential caregivers who may wish to monitor the medicine remotely. When a problem is detected, such as missing data (indicating a connection issue), or that sensors are reporting unsafe levels, the prototype will push a notification to the user’s phone so they can address the issue. 

The hardware prototype consists of two devices: the primary device and the secondary device. The primary device lives with a user’s medicine, and contains sensors which can track the environmental conditions around the medicine. The secondary device lives somewhere in the user’s home and serves as a communications link. When in range of the secondary device, the primary device communicates data over Bluetooth to the secondary device, which is directly connected to the internet and the Salutemp’s database. When not in range of the secondary device, the primary device connects to the user’s phone to communicate data over Bluetooth.

We will be serving 50 people during our phase 3 trial

We estimate that we will be able to help at least 1.3 million

As a group of college and graduate students, funding for large scale production has been our largest obstacle.