Medication compliance is a continuing problem for many patients, but especially for the elderly in large part due to forgetfulness and inattention. Children or caregivers of the elderly will often help with reminders, but it’s difficult to stay vigilant on a daily basis. VV-BOX, a new device that’s just debuted on Kickstarter, hopes to automate the process of dispensing drugs so that they’re taken on-time according to the prescribed regimen.
The device has two compartments for two different pill bottles. It connects to the internet via the home’s WiFi network and then programmed with the medication schedule using a paired app. The VV-BOX then follows the schedule, reminding the user to take the drugs on time. The reminders come in the form of a recording that a family member made, something on the order of “Hey Dad, take your pills.” To make sure that the reminder is not missed, the VV-BOX has a proximity sensor that recognizes that a person is near. This lets it play the reminder precisely when the patient is already near the device and doesn’t have to go out of his/her way to take the pills. The system recognizes that a pill was taken and resets the reminders accordingly for the next batch.
While the VV-BOX seems to be designed for ease of use, having only two pill bottles within seems to be a serious limitation since many elderly take considerably more drugs on a daily basis. Nevertheless, a reminder to take one pill can work to remind about the others.
Here’s a video presenting the VV-BOX. Judge for yourself:
Kickstarter campaign: VV-BOX…
Link: VV-BOX product page…