Serene is a portable medical fridge designed to make malaria vaccinations a comfortable experience for children in Sub-Saharan Africa, where malaria remains a leading cause of child mortality. Serene addresses the repeated and often daunting vaccination process with a child-friendly design. The fridge features a smiling display visible to children when opened, creating a calming and engaging experience. Its compact design includes a removable needle disposal and a medical supplies compartment, making it ideal for travel to remote areas.
Studio Project: Product Redesign
Duration: 3 Months
October 2024
Skills: User Research, User Testing, Prototyping, 3D Modelling
In Sub-Saharan Africa, malaria remains the leading cause of death among children, resulting in the loss of 260,000 young lives annually (World Health Organization, 2012).
Children receiving malaria vaccines can range from five months old to three years old. Receiving a vaccine at such a young age can be daunting and uncomfortable.
The goal is to design a portable medical fridge for malaria vaccines that ensures children feel comfortable receiving a vaccine. This system will promote malaria vaccination as a good experience for all families to register while keeping the cold chain system in place.
This project focuses on SDG 3, Good Health and Well-Being to reduce child/adult mortality with proper vaccination. As well as SDG 10 to reduce inequalities and provide equal opportunities to isolated areas.
Targeted clients are children in Africa who live in isolated areas and lack properly stored malaria vaccines.
Current malaria vaccines require four to five doses over a certain period of time, depending on operational considerations.
Children ranging from five months old must receive these vaccines repeatedly at the beginning of their lives.
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Making sure vaccines and medical supplies could be stored and handled safely. This includes organized storage for supplies and a removable needle disposal system to support safe use and clean-up.
The design must focus on making vaccines quick and easy to access, while still maintaining the cold chain needed to keep them effective.
Adding a functional, extendable workspace is crucial for making vaccine preparation and administration more comfortable, efficient, and intuitive during real-world use.
Concealment reduces anxiety
Most users preferred designs that conceal the vaccine preparation process, noting that visible preparation can feel intimidating or confusing for children.
Intuitive access
The chest-latch opening system was consistently preferred over the drawer system, as it felt more natural and easier to understand.
Innovative storage improves usability
Swivel-open storage compartments were favored over side compartments for their accessibility and thoughtful design.
Prototype comparisons guided refinement
Testing two distinct prototypes helped identify preferred approaches to vaccine access, storage, and visibility, directly informing improvements in the final design.
Serene.
Serene is a portable medical fridge for malaria vaccines that ensures children feel comfortable receiving a vaccine, while keeping the cold chain system in place.
This system will promote malaria vaccination as a good experience for all families to register.
Features
Serene is designed with several thoughtful features to enhance the vaccination experience. An extendable work surface conceals the preparation process from the child, reducing anxiety and creating a more calming environment. The cold chain vaccine storage compartment ensures that all malaria vaccines are securely stored at cold chain temperatures. A digital screen provides users with the ability to adjust the fridge’s temperature and access past temperature and battery life data. Additionally, Serene has a medical supplies compartment, organizing essential items such as gloves, alcohol pads, bandages, syringes, and needles. To ensure safe and hygienic disposal, a removable needle disposal compartment is integrated into the design.
UI/UX
Homepage: The homepage displays the current temperature of the fridge, which can be adjusted as needed. It also indicates the estimated time required to reach the desired temperature. Additional elements on the homepage include the battery life, shown in the top left corner, and a navigation menu located on the left-hand side. The menu provides access to the homepage, past temperature records, and past battery life data.
Past Temperature Screen: This screen presents a graph displaying the fridge’s temperature over the past seven days. The graph has a temperature range from a minimum of 2°C to a maximum of 10°C. The x-axis represents the days, and users can tap on any day to view the specific average temperature recorded for that date.
Past Battery Life Screen: Similar in design to the temperature screen, this screen shows a graph tracking battery life over the past seven days. The graph ranges from a minimum of 20% to a maximum
of 100%.
Colour Analysis
The colour scheme of Serene was carefully chosen to promote a sense of calm. While other colours, such as green and pinkish red, were considered.
Blue was ultimately selected for its universally recognized soothing qualities, aligning with the product’s goal of creating a comforting experience for children.
Use Cycle
- The use cycle of Serene begins with the vaccinator travelling to a rural area.
- Upon arrival, the vaccinator places Serene in front of the child who is about to receive a malaria vaccine.
- Next, the vaccinator opens the lid of Serene and extends the adjustable work surfaces outward.
- As the child observes Serene’s simple, fun, and comforting face, they experience a sense of calm.
- The vaccinator then accesses the medical supplies compartment to prepare for the vaccination, including putting on medical gloves, cleaning the injection area with an alcohol pad, and drawing the vaccine into a syringe.
- Finally, the vaccinator administers the vaccine and safely disposes of the used needle in Serene’s removable needle disposal compartment.
Model Making
The creation of the Serene model began by determining the appropriate dimensions. Once the measurements were finalized, rectangles of polyurethane foam were cut and bonded together with contact cement to form a solid block. To make the carving process easier, a band saw was used to trim the edges. For carving the curves of Serene, various tools were used such as rasps, electric sanders, and clamps. Orthographic drawings on tracing paper served as a guide, ensuring the curves were precise and the overall was shape accurate.
Technical Drawings
