We have heard about campers, kitchens and even tiny homes that slot in pickup truck beds, however the PreCare system is decidedly extra altruistic. It is a truck-bed-based popup healthcare middle, designed to serve distant and impoverished communities.
Adaptable to totally different makes and fashions of pickup vehicles, the modular setup is being developed by a group from Germany’s Fraunhofer Institute for Floor Engineering and Skinny Movies, the Fraunhofer Institute for Photo voltaic Power Methods, and Stellenbosch College.
When not in use, the package folds down to take a seat in and above the again of the truck. It stays securely in place, even because the automobile traverses the lengthy stretches of tough roads that sometimes hyperlink distant villages in underserved areas corresponding to Sub-Saharan Africa. These communities typically lack clinics or healthcare professionals of their very own.
Fraunhofer IST
Upon reaching their vacation spot, the PreCare group shortly deploy the system by folding it out to the perimeters. The entire thing can reportedly be operated by only one driver and one healthcare skilled. Amongst different issues, it may be used to carry out pre-clinical examinations, checkups, assessments, and vaccinations.
Among the onboard gear features a fridge (for samples and drugs), water purification system, and disinfectant manufacturing module. There’s additionally a satellite-linked laptop computer which permits customers to seek the advice of with remotely situated physicians, as they study sufferers by way of Bluetooth-linked units corresponding to blood strain screens, ECGs, cell ultrasound models, and X-ray gear.
Energy is offered by a battery financial institution which is related to an array of photovoltaic panels.
Fraunhofer IST / Lothar Schäfer
The primary PreCare prototype was examined by a non-profit group over a nine-month interval in 2023, within the South African neighborhood of Daantjie. Roughly 120 residents utilized the system every month for a wide range of functions, though it was getting used primarily for HIV testing.
A non-governmental group started working a second prototype in April 2024, as a part of a program for the early detection and prevention of cervical most cancers in Namibia. Manufacturing, gross sales and upkeep are actually being dealt with by Fraunhofer spinoff firm S Mile Solutions, situated in South Africa.
“PreCare places healthcare inside attain for everybody, in all places,” says challenge chief Frank Neumann.
Medical Care — Well being Platform for Pickup Vehicles | Improvements for a Higher Future award 2025
Supply: Fraunhofer
