Medication Reminder Device with Motion Sensor Feedback
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Solution Overview
Problem
Patients often forget to take non-daily medication doses, leading to non-adherence, which is a significant problem for both patients and the pharmaceutical industry, resulting in high costs and revenue losses due to missed doses, especially among busy individuals with unstructured routines.
Innovation Solution
A reminder device with a touch screen, motion sensor, and audible alarm that displays a countdown timer and provides reminders based on user-inputted dosing and reminder schedules, including visual and audible alerts, and optional text message reminders, to help patients remember to take their medication.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If existing reminder systems (wall calendars, digital phone reminders) are used, then the system is simple and cost-effective, but the system is easy to ignore and not life-proof
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements feedback mechanisms where the drug delivery device communicates dose status (administered/not administered) back to the reminder system, and the reminder system provides confirmed notifications to the user. This closed-loop feedback ensures the user cannot ignore the reminder and confirms whether the medication was actually taken, directly addressing the reliability issue while maintaining simplicity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent merges the reminder function with the drug delivery device itself, creating an integrated system where the device that delivers medication also provides reminders and tracks administration status. This combination eliminates the need for separate reminder systems and ensures the reminder is directly tied to the medication taking action, improving reliability without adding complexity.
2Reliability
If low energy Bluetooth devices are used to connect smart user device with drug delivery device, then feedback function is improved, but the system suffers from added complexity, costs, and chemical batteries
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the wireless communication requirement from the drug delivery device itself and places it in a separate external device (smartphone or dedicated reminder device). This allows the drug delivery device to remain simple without batteries or complex electronics, while still achieving feedback functionality through the external device's communication capabilities.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary device (smartphone or dedicated reminder device) that mediates between the user and the drug delivery device. This intermediary handles all complex communication, data storage, and feedback functions, allowing the drug delivery device to remain simple while achieving comprehensive feedback capability.
Data Source
AI summary
A reminder device includes a body having a touch screen and a button, a motion sensor, an audible indicator for generating an audible alarm, and a memory storing a dosing schedule and a reminder schedule. A processor is configured to execute logic stored on the memory to cause: (A) the touch screen to display a countdown timer for reminding the user of the at least one date for the dose, the countdown timer updating as the at least one date for the dose approaches and comprising a visible indicator, activated upon actuation of the button and sensing motion via the motion sensor, and (B) the audible alarm to activate at the at least one date for the dose. So configured, the motion sensor and alarms operate in a vicinity of storage of the drug product, enabling a user easily take the drug product upon using the reminder device.