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The aim of my project, CAPILL, is to develop a medicine dispenser that makes taking medications easier and safer for the estimated 460,000 people in Ireland with conditions such as arthritis, rheumatism, and Parkinson’s disease.
My design process was guided by 5 key pillars:
- Safety
- Medication compliance
- Ease of use and access
- Promoting Independent living
- Adaptable to meet the changing medicinal needs of the patient
Using an iterative approach, I have developed an adaptable design that can hold a week’s worth of medications. These medications can be dispensed up to four times a day.
CAPILL consists of up to four levels. In each level, a stepper motor rotates a paddle that pushes the medication through a slot. This drops the medication into an ergonomic cup in the base of the device. When the medication is due to be taken, audio and visual prompts alert the patient. The patient scans their fingerprint, and a servo motor presents the cup from the base.
To ensure patient safety is met and to improve medications compliance, the device works with an app. The app ensures that a patient will not skip a dose or take a double dose by alerting family members or carers when a dose is not taken at the correct time, allowing them to intervene.
To assess how well CAPILL meets the five key goals, I ran a trial with a random sample of patients, from the population of intended end-users.
CAPILL improves medication compliance, patient safety, and promotes independent living long-term.
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