Also: The Engineering Design Process

Group Members: Sneha Borikar, Sarah Bowen, Grace Chao, Nikhil Karmarkar, Sarah Smock

Steps 1 and 2: Identifying a Need and Defining the Problem

(taken from EWH website)
There are many substances that must be kept cold in a hospital. Vaccines are the best known. For this reason, most health care facilities have at least one refrigerator. However, these cold boxes are typically concentrated in one part of the hospital, perhaps the blood bank. A subset of substances are sometimes needed on very short notice, far from the refrigerator. For example, oxytocin (used to contract the uterus after delivery) is unpredictably needed on short notice. Or, they may be required in very remote areas, where they must be carried by hand. Having no access to refrigeration, but knowing the need for the substances, many facilities simply leave a vial of the substance on the counter or exposed to heat and hope that it does not loose its potency. What is needed is a refrigerator of very small volume. It should be sufficient to store one days worth of the chemical (perhaps 5 ml) without the need for electricity or, preferably, any outside fuel. The cavity should be able to be maintained at about 10 degrees C for 12 hours. It could require shaking, cranking, solar, a hot piece of charcoal or any other non-electric fuel source.
Relevant Additional Specifications
Cost: <$100 in quantities of 500

Step 3: Conducting and Narrowing Research

Constraints and Specifications

Constraint	Specification
should withstand drop from 6 ft.	durability
1 cubic meter	portable size
no more than 6lbs	portable weight
none, standard parts	minimal maintenance/cost req'd
no more than $100 when made in 500	minimal production cost
can withstand 120F, can withstand humidity of 100%	weather-resistant
can cool to under 10C,	cooling
can cool within 30 minutes	fast
no harm to users	human safety
no harm or toxic chemicals	environmental safety
no toxic chemicals to medicine	non-contaminant
no outside electrical source	non-electric
must have efficiency above 50%	efficient

Step 4: Finding alternative solutions

Step 5: Analyzing possible solution

Step 6: Presenting the product