Solar-Powered Autoclave Comes In Handy In Remote Areas

The world is not really equal in many terms, when it comes to money, influence, power, social status, the works! Thing is, everyone deserves adequate medical care and attention, but somehow, those living in poorer countries naturally have a lesser chance to access decent medical facilities, let alone enjoy sterile medical equipment in the event of a surgery. The Little Devices group at MIT decided to use this problem as an inspiration for them to come up with a solution, resulting in a solar concentrating system which is capable of sterilizing medical tools, where the only kinds of equipment it requires are locally sourced materials and of course, the sun.

Known as the SolarClave, it relies on the build up of the sun’s power in order to heat and pressurize a chamber that has been filled with medical equipment, ensuring that the presence of any dangerous microbes would be eliminated completely. Suspending an insulated “cooker” in a bucket over an array of 140 pocket sized mirrors, it is said that a clear day will allow the mirrors to concentrate the sun’s power in an hour to 250 degrees Fahrenheit, which is ideal for sterilizing the equipment within, taking 20 minutes for the entire sterilization cycle.

Edwin Kee
Categories: Gadgets, Green
Tags: solar power