A Brunel University graduate is developing a medication system
to help non-hospitalised patients take the correct pills at the
correct time.
Inspired by seeing the mass of pills her grandmother had to cope
with after a stroke, Katrin Svabo Bech began started work on the
system as a final year project.
Central to the scheme is an automated home dispensing machine
called PillAid - the prototype is shown above.
Patients are given a healthcare smartcard, which contains
medical history, medication currently taken and an electronic
prescription form.
When new medication is prescribed the patient's GP logs this
information onto the card, which the patient then takes to the
pharmacist.
"The pharmacist provides the medicine in an appropriate
dispensing device and advises the patient on how to fit this into
the PillAid product," said Brunel.
Once home, the patient places the dispensing device into PillAid
and inserts the Smart Card into the system.
Based on the smartcard data, PillAid automatically determines
the time and dosage that the medicine should be taken and provides
visual and audio reminders. A button push, which the card records
for the GP, dispenses the pills.