Wake up, it's time for you to take a sleeping pill!
"Smart" pill bottles are becoming a reality
To help in this very common situation should be "smart" pill bottles, clinical trials of which begin in the United States.
A "smart" pill bottle (here and below the developer's image).
The technology in question was developed by Associate Professor Emil Jovanov from the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Alabama in Huntsville (USA). The manufacturing of vials will be handled by the startup AdhereTech, which licensed the technology.
Here's how it works. A rechargeable battery and a mobile communication module with support for cellular networks of the third and fourth (LTE) generations are integrated inside the bubble. Built-in sensors allow you to determine the opening time of the bottle, as well as the remaining supply of tablets or liquid. The data is transmitted to the central server, where it is compared with the established schedule of taking medications and the prescribed duration of the course of treatment.
If the system determines that the bottle cap was not opened at the right time (or the amount of the drug remained unchanged), the patient will receive a notification on his mobile phone in the form of a text message or email. In addition, the bubble will give light and sound signals.
The novelty can not only remind you of a missed medication, but also inform you in advance about the next time of the procedure.
The development will be useful to attending physicians, who will be able to find out at any time and from any place how accurately their patients follow the prescriptions. This will help to objectively assess the effectiveness of treatment, if necessary, make adjustments – for example, increase or decrease the dosage, prescribe another drug, etc.
Pharmacists, knowing exactly the rest of the medicine in the vial of a patient and the prescribed duration of the course of treatment, will be able to prepare additional portions of medicines in advance.
The tests of "smart" vials will be carried out by the Weill Medical College of Cornell University (USA), which received a grant of $ 100 thousand from the New York City Economic Development Corp. and New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg. The testing will last 12 weeks; 70 patients with human immunodeficiency virus will take part in it, half of whom will take drugs from "smart" vials.
In addition, 1000 vials should be tested on patients with two forms of diabetes. If the tests are successful, the new product will be available in 2015.
Prepared based on the materials of the University of Alabama in Huntsville: Smart pill bottle invented at UAH heads to clinical trials.
Portal "Eternal youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru13.08.2013