LIVINGLIVING
P
aris, France 2016: Uwe
Diegel, the managing
director of a medical
business is expecting
a visit from his brother,
Dr. Olaf Diegel, who has had diabetes
since the age of 17, and is professor
of industrial design at the Auckland
Technology University in New Zealand.
His job forces him to travel a lot to take
part in international congresses and is
used to travelling with his insulin, keeping
it cool using iceboxes and cooler bags.
Insulin, is sensitive to heat and should be
stored at 2-8°C.
Booked into a hotel, when he arrives
he notices there is no fridge in his hotel
room, even though he had particularly
insisted on this when making the booking.
Although he does not speak French, he
arranges with the clerk at the entrance
desk to keep his insulin in the fridge in
the hotels' kitchen. A few hours later,
KIT
REPORT
Brothers Olaf and Uwe Diegel's sexy new mini fridge means
transporting insulin safely is now stylish as well as easy.
Boxed in, beautifully
needing to have an injection, he goes
down to reception to ask for it, only to
discover that it was placed in the freezer
by accident by someone in the kitchen.
He had to have a night pharmacy opened
just to get some fresh insulin. Luckily, the
problem is resolved easily enough thanks
to the wonderful efficiency of the French
pharmacy system.
The brothers, who often work together
on new research projects, discuss the
event and decide to design a portable
fridge that would use the Peltier Effect to
create cold without gas or moving parts.
Soon after they make a rough prototype
which worked quite well, so the brothers
start 'Lifeina' company.
Beauty and brains
LifeinaBox, the world's smallest fridge,
has been launched. It is the culmination
of many years of research to produce a
universal solution that will allow users to
travel any place, any time, knowing that
their medication is kept at exactly the
right temperature. Suitable for any heatsensitive medication such as insulin,
growth hormones, arthritis or multiple
sclerosis medications, it allows users the
freedom to travel anywhere.
LifeinaBox is a state-of-the-art device
using a combination of thermoelectric
energy and batteries that will allow the
user to be mobile with his medications
under any conditions for up to 24
hours, without the need to recharge his
device. Operating on 110V or 220V or
with a car cigarette lighter, LifeinaBox
is environmentally friendly and contains
no hazardous gases, tubes, coils or
compressors.
An app (available in iOS and Android)
follows the real time temperature of the
medications and can also send the user
reminders of medication schedules, to
improve his adherence to medication