VaxTrac

Our Solution

Strategy Statement — What is VaxTrac?

VaxTrac understands that many of the problems hindering vaccine delivery in the developing world stem from the same root cause: lack of accurate, timely information. We believe we can change this by providing advanced tools to health workers. With inexpensive mobile phones and netbook computers, we can build a robust, scalable system that does not rely on preexisting infrastructure.

We have created a vaccination registry that is operated and managed by the organizations in the field administering vaccines. Patients are identified in the registry by their fingerprints. When a patient returns after initial treatment, the health worker who sees them is provided with an accurate vaccination history. This seemingly small step enables many other improvements. The presence of low-cost electronic devices at the point of care enables the implementation of supply chain management tools that were previously infeasible. We can generate automatic reports and use near-real-time data to improve parts of the process far beyond vaccine schedule adherence.

Current and future development and deployment time line

VaxTrac is constantly working with our partners and health workers around the globe to refine and improve our service offerings. For the most up to date information on current projects, please see our blog.

Released Features:

The current build of our biometric immunization registry provides the following features:

Low-cost netbook platform
Simple database synchronization of local units
Age-invariant biometric enrollment and re-identification from infancy
Immunization dose scheduling and adherence monitoring
Clinic level supply monitoring

Features in Development:

Automated supply chain management
Tracking each dose of vaccine from supplier to end user, which will help reduce stock-outs, strengthen the cold chain, and eliminate waste due to expiration
Real-time status monitoring of vaccination programs
Delivering timely reports, which can advise policy changes without waiting for retrospective surveys to be completed allowing for the accelerated evolution of vaccination campaigns
The addition of more mobile platforms including phones

How our Registry Works

In most developing countries there is no national identifier that can be easily kept to identify a patient through the immunization process. To fill this need we create a unique identifier based on the patient's fingerprints.

Every time a child is vaccinated, his or her fingerprints are scanned. Rather than storing an image of the fingerprint, the system translates the fingerprint into a unique identifier. This code is stored in a regional database along with pertinent vaccination information. Since only the identifier is stored, the patient records in our database are secure and can not be used to access another biometric database.

Once the patient key is generated, the key is referenced against existing records. If no match is found then a new record must be created. Automation of this process allows clinicians to spend less time interviewing parents to ascertain vaccination histories and more time treating patients.

The software automatically matches vaccines the clinician has with them to the needs of the patient according to their age and vaccination history. If the patient needs a vaccine the clinician doesn't have, the system automatically creates a note within the stock management system that keeps track of need in the area. When the vaccine becomes available, the areas of greatest need will already be known.