Golden Hour Medical Transport Container

Golden Hour Container
Minnesota Thermal Science

NSN : 6530-01-505-5301

Date : 2003-9-06

Minnesota Thermal Science (MTS) is a leading provider of high performance temperature controlled logistic solutions. The ISO 9001:2008 certified company currently employs over 30 skilled and experienced personnel. The company was formed in 2002 in response to an industry-wide search by the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research for a more effective combat-environment thermal container. MTS responded with the Original Golden Hour® (OGH) thermal shipping container, 2003 recipient of the Greatest Invention Award from the US Army.

The OGH continues to keep critical blood, vaccines and other temperature sensitive medical supplies safe for extended periods of time in the extreme environments of the battlefield today. GSA-certified, all Minnesota Thermal Science containers employ Golden Hour® technology for safe, reliable transport that outperforms other thermal solutions on the market.

MTS supplies temperature controlled transport / logistics products and services to clients around the globe. These products offer a high level of protection for temperature-sensitive goods including pharmaceuticals, tissue and biologics. Minnesota Thermal Science is particularly experienced in understanding the needs of clients, and collaborating to offer a reliable, cost-effective solution with a meaningful ROI.

• Transporting Blood Products
• Military Shipping Containers
• Vaccine Transportation
• Passive Thermal Control
• Shipping Medicines
• GSA Transport Systems

The OGH is an iceless, reusable 2 liter medical pack that holds 4 units of blood, biologics, regents and or other chilled medical supplies over 72 hours in harsh conditions and over 90 hours in standard environments without the need for a power supply.

The Original Golden Hour Container centers around the removable Thermal Insulated Chamber (TIC®) system that is easily preconditioned in any standard freezer for year-round use. Each of the TIC's six hollowed blow-molded plastic panels contain a specially engineered Phase Change Material (PCM) designed to meet the specific time and temperature requirements demanded for its use.1 The six panels create a payload chamber with a volume of 2 liters or 127.5 cubic inches.

The PCM contained within the OGH is designed to maintain blood, reagents and other temperature-sensitive medical materials in the 1º to 10ºC and 2º to 8ºC ranges for the 72-90 hour time frame. To reach its freezing point of approximately 4ºC (which indicates that the PCM is at its proper "working" temperature), a TIC can take as little as 3 hours at -20ºC. Warmer temperatures, up to +3ºC, will work but require longer charging durations. While testing has found benefits of using PCM use instead of ice, studies have shown that the PCM paired with the OGH TIC are much more effective at absorbing and releasing thermal energy.2