It is estimated that over 55 percent of Americans are reliant on daily medication. These medications have various dosage requirements and can become a burden for people to store, keep track of, and use correctly. Conventional medication distribution systems still require a significant amount of time to set aside correct dosages for every different medication. With many people taking 5 or more medications, this can become overwhelming. In addition, the prescriptions often run out at different times so the patient must always check the pill quantities.
Apotech is an in-home solution to the widespread need for medication distribution. Under the supervision of a faculty sponsor, Eugene Freeman, the Airmed team consisting of Kristina Brunsgaard, Brian Caverly, Isaiah Jones, Chris Morroni, Jacob Melonis and Fritz Norwood designed and constructed a prototype of this device.
Apotech eliminates these problems by handling the logistics of getting the medication to the prescribed user when they need it. It allows for programmable dosage schedules of up to eight medications of pills with length between 5 and 25mm and diameter between 2 and 10 mm through an app. Apotech notifies the user via WiFi to the smartphone app when it is time to take their pills. Apotech also keeps track of current pill quantities and notifies the caregiver via the app when a refill is needed before it becomes a problem.
In addition to assisting people with managing their medication, Apotech will benefit caregivers and family members. Sorting pills and ensuring they are consumed when needed is a tedious process which Apotech automates entirely. This frees up caregiver and family time to be better spent on other tasks.
At an affordable price, Apotech will provide the user with the capability of dispensing a 30 day supply of 8 different medications into an easy-to-use hopper. Medication statistics such as which prescription is in which bin, the dose of the prescription, frequency of administration, and the amount of medication left in each bin is available on a user interface. This is reprogrammable depending on the current prescriptions. Apotech dispenses medication with a high degree of accuracy and alerts the user when it is time to consume the medication. It runs on a standard 120V outlet with battery powered back up in case of a power outage.