VaxBeads

Vaccines remain one of the most important tools that can be used to improve health. However, there are millions of children each year who are not vaccinated (a great overview: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK2284/). This number is simply unacceptable. Vaccines are usually available, but issues around the supply and distribution of these vaccines limit their efficient delivery. Unfortunately, of the vaccines that are delivered, many are given to children who have already been inoculated but do not have adequate records. These children are re-inoculated to be safe, wasting the valuable resource. Organisations like VaxTrac (http://vaxtrac.com/) are working to solve some of these problems using innovative software, but in the meantime another system is needed to track vaccination.

VaxBeads are 3D printed immunization records which will make it easier to determine what vaccines a child needs. Each bead represents a different vaccine. The shape and colour of each bead is unique to a