Mini fridge inventor Olaf Diegel, from the Institute of Technology and Engineering, has sold his technology to Swiss company, Microlife, who are going to take a refined version of the fridge to the world market.
Mr Diegel, a diabetic, invented the fridge, which fits into a jacket pocket, earlier this year to carry his insulin overseas.
The company that has purchased the technology already manufacture medical equipment including thermometers and blood pressure monitors, as well as products for insulin users. Mr Diegel says they saw the fridge as a perfect complement to the existing range.
“Since the original prototype was built we have reduced it in size by half, it’s now flatter and we’ve changed the battery, made it a lot smaller and more efficient. All going well the first models will be on the shelfs this side of Christmas.”
The media interest generated by the promotion of the original invention has generated a lot of interest from diabetics all round the world, says Mr Diegel. “I’ve had many, many emails asking why hasn’t this sort of thing been available before. I think it’s because it needed a diabetic to come up with a solution. I was frustrated with trying to keep my insulin cold while travelling so I sat down to try and solve the problem. The technology I’ve used has been available for years to cool computer chips, so this is just a new application of existing technology.”
Mr Diegel says he has a couple of other projects like this on the go that is now trying to get the University interested in supporting.
From Massey University News