Innovations for a Better Future award from the Fraunhofer-Zukunftsstiftung (Fraunhofer Future Foundation)

©  Foto: Fraunhofer / Piotr Banczerowski  

Prize winners 2025:

Frank Neumann and Dr. Simone Kondruweit-Reinema
(Fraunhofer Institute for Surface Engineering and Thin Films IST)

Dr. Joachim Koschikowski and Ricarda-Laura Sack
(Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE)
 

Around the world, there is a lack of comprehensive medical care for people living in remote areas. Frank Neumann and Simone Kondruweit-Reinema from the Fraunhofer Institute for Surface Engineering and Thin Films IST and Joachim Koschikowski and Ricarda-Laura Sack from the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE have devised a solution for this in the PreCare project: a flexible, modular health platform that can be installed on the bed of a pickup truck. It is already in use in South Africa and Namibia. The team received the Innovations for a Better Future award from the Fraunhofer-Zukunftsstiftung for this development.

Modular production on site

The health platform, mounted on the bed of a pickup truck, offers the infrastructure needed for a medical examination in a very compact space. Electrical equipment, like the refrigeration system for medications and blood samples, is operated via an independent power supply. There is even a water purification system on board. A system based on diamond-coated electrodes makes it possible to produce disinfectants from a simple sodium chloride solution while in the field. The first prototype was delivered to an NGO in South Africa in 2023. Funding from the Fraunhofer-Zukunftsstiftung then made it possible to develop a second prototype in Namibia. S Mile Solutions (Pty) Ltd, which was founded during the project, is now handling the manufacturing, sales and maintenance. It is Fraunhofer’s first spin-off in South Africa.

PreCare combines innovation with the needs of communities in rural areas. Its adaptability to medical requirements sets new standards for mobile healthcare. In their remarks praising this year’s winner, the jury highlighted the network of researchers, companies, civil organizations and government agencies and the targeted efforts that have been made, which can be extended to areas such as disaster aid and veterinary medicine.