Purdue University Graduate School
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TEMPENSURE, A BLOCKCHAIN SYSTEM FOR TEMPERATURE CONTROL IN COLD CHAIN LOGISTICS

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thesis
posted on 2022-08-08, 18:58 authored by Matthew L SchnellMatthew L Schnell

  

Cold chain logistics comprise a large portion of transported pharmaceutical medications and raw materials which must be preserved at specified temperatures to maintain consumer safety and efficacy. An immutable record of temperatures of transported pharmaceutical goods allows for mitigation of temperature-related issues of such drugs and their raw components. The recording of this information on a blockchain creates such an immutable record of this information which can be readily accessed by any relevant party. This can allow for any components which have not been kept at the appropriate temperatures to be removed from production. These data can also be used as inputs for smart contracts or for data analytic purposes. 

A theoretical framework for such a system, referred to as “TempEnsure” is described, which provides digital capture of the internal temperature of temperature-controlled shipping containers. The data are recorded in a blockchain system. Real world testing of this system was not possible due to monetary constraints, but the functional elements of the system, as well as potential improvements for the system, are discussed.

History

Degree Type

  • Master of Science

Department

  • Technology Leadership and Innovation

Campus location

  • West Lafayette

Advisor/Supervisor/Committee Chair

Kathryn Newton

Additional Committee Member 2

Regena Scott

Additional Committee Member 3

Matthew Stephens