About the Epi-Temp

So, why the Epi-Temp? 

As a teenager, I often found myself going to places where I had no control over the temperature. Places like the beach, the stadium, the snow cone stand near my school, and basically anywhere else outdoors. Especially while taking tours for colleges or during vacations, I found it very difficult to keep my epinephrine at the right temperature range, having to either jump from shady area to shady area, or to keep it bundled up against my body at all times depending on whether it was hot or cold outside. Eventually, I found myself thinking, there’s gotta be an easier way to do this. 

That’s when I started researching temperature regulation, and came upon the idea of using Phase Change Materials (PCMs). What I wanted was an easy, convenient way to help keep epinephrine at a safe temperature range, and PCMs provided a great way to do that. After a few initial experiments comparing the effectiveness of different combinations of insulation and PCMs, I developed the first prototype for the Epi-Temp pack, which maintained a temperature within the safe range for epinephrine for approximately two hours in direct summer sunlight.

Subsequently, I entered the FARE (Food Allergy Research and Education) 2017 Innovation Tank Competition in the prototype division, where I received the FARE Young Innovator of the Year Award. Since then, I’ve been working hard to make this pack available to the people who need it most. 

Thank you so much for your support! I hope the Epi-Temp will ease your worries about helping to keep your auto-injectors at the right temperature. I’m certainly more confident going off to college now that I have one by my side.

P.S. Let’s all continue to work hard together to spread awareness for this increasingly prevalent health condition! Maybe some day soon, we can find significant in-roads into developing a cure for food allergies.