Everything you need to know about measuring the temperature of medicine cooler bags (2-8°C and 16-25°C)
Correctly cooling medicines during transport is essential for people who rely on temperature-sensitive medication. At MediCooler, we thoroughly test our medicine cooling bags to ensure they can keep medicines at a stable and safe temperature, as required for 2-8°C and 16-25°C medicine storage. It is crucial that the temperature of the liquid in the medicine itself is measured, and not the temperature of the ambient air in the bag. This provides an accurate picture of the true condition of the medication.
What to look for when testing medicine cool bags?
When testing medicine cooler bags, there are some key elements that can affect performance:
- Ambient temperature : The temperature outside the cool bag can affect performance.
- Type of medication : Different medications have specific storage conditions.
- Static temperature of the medication itself : It is essential that we measure the temperature of the liquid in the syringes, bottles or pens, and not the air in the bag . Only then will we get an accurate picture of the actual temperature of the medication.
Supplies needed for testing medicine cooler bags
We use the following equipment to test our medicine cooling bags:
- Syringes, vials and pre-filled pens filled with water to simulate medication.
- Temperature controllers and data logging equipment (e.g. MadgeTech Thermocouple Datalogger with 8 temperature probes).
- A temperature-controlled test environment (such as a black box) that provides a constant ambient temperature.
Testing Process for Medicine Cooler Bags
To simulate realistic conditions, we follow the following test process:
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Preparation of drug simulations : Syringes, vials and pens are filled with water and pre-cooled in a household refrigerator until they reach a temperature of 2-8°C.
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Preparation of the cool bag : The gel packs are placed in the freezer at -18°C for at least 14 hours. This simulates a standard household freezer.
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Temperature probe placement : MadgeTech temperature probes are placed in syringes, pens and bottles to accurately measure the temperature of the liquid. This method ensures that we are monitoring the temperature of the liquid itself, and not the fluctuating air in the cooler bag.
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Testing in a controlled environment : The filled vials, syringes and pens are placed in the medicine cooler bag, together with the frozen gel packs. The bag is then placed in a black box that is kept at a constant temperature of 24.2°C.
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Recording of results : The temperature is measured every minute and recorded by a computer for 12, 24 or 36 hours, depending on the specifications of the cool bag being tested.
Why do we test at 24.2°C?
The temperature of 24.2°C is internationally recognized as the average ambient temperature and is also the standard temperature in aircraft. Since many users use medicine cooler bags during air travel, we test our bags at this temperature to obtain representative results.
What happens when using higher ambient temperatures?
If a medicine cooler designed to keep medicines at 2-8°C for 24 hours is used in higher ambient temperatures (such as 30°C), the cooler will likely perform for a shorter period of time. In this case, the bag may only be able to keep the medicine at the desired temperature for 12 or 13 hours instead of 24 hours.
MediCooler: Quality and Performance of Medicine Cooler Bags
At MediCooler we strive to develop medicine cooler bags that perform optimally under various conditions. Our priority is to measure the actual medication temperature instead of the air to ensure the most reliable test possible. Although the performance of the bags is partly dependent on environmental factors, we continue to innovate and test constantly to ensure that our products meet the most stringent requirements for medicine transport.
