23-05-2012, 12:56 PM
Automatic Pill Dispenser and Reminder
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Abstract
In this age of fast moving lifestyle, we find less time for the aged. And this is very disheartening for all of us, that people who brought up, cared all their life for us are not been taken care of properly. This is not something that people do on purpose but this is also an issue which needs to be addressed very earnestly.
According to the latest report of World Health Organization (WHO), 50% of the adults are not taking their medicine at the proper time. The reason is that most of them forget about taking the medicine at the right time and some of them do not care to take the medicine, poor education, low social support, low doctor accountability, etc. This will cause damage to their health. And also by doing so, they won’t be able to complete their medicine course at the right time .These problems created by the patients will not only affect them, but also the medicine manufacturers as well. The thing is that these medicine manufacturers are providing the right medicine and they are reported that it doesn’t have any effect on patients. It is because of the patients who are not taking the medicine at the right time. So all these problems can be avoided if there is a system which can automatically provide the patient to take the medicine at the right time.
This project aims to provide a solution to one of the various problems in this area. The Automatic Pill Dispenser and Reminder is a system for aged people who have a habit of forgetting their medicine in the prescribed time schedule. This system provides the user with three main functions. The first function is to provide pill automatically to the patient. Secondly if there is anything wrong with the intake of medicine by the patient, then an alarm is provided to inform about that and also there is a mechanism to send SMS to the relative(s) of the user to inform them about this. And the third is an emergency call mechanism to autodial emergency medical service numbers such as 108. Thus the device is a great benefit to those people who don’t have much time to take care of their old ones. They don’t have to be with the patient all time and also if there is something urgent, then the SMS provider will notify the user with that. We can also send the concerned doctor about our progress with the medicine through SMS. So that the Doctor will be able to inform us to know for how long we have to take the medicine. This helps the patient not to see the doctor every time. The device will also help in proper refilling of the medicines.
The main function of the system is to provide the patient the prescribed pill at the right time. So it provides the patient to take the necessary pill at the right time as prescribed by the physician. So this eliminates the problem for someone to take care of the patient all time. The other function of the system is to inform us if something goes wrong. i.e., if the patient doesn’t take the medicine at the proper time or so. If the patient doest take the pill at the right time, then the system has got a provision to inform about that. The Pill Dispenser has an alarm system which can be programmed by the user as per the medicine time prescribed by the physician. The Pill dispenser will also be connected to the relative(s) of the user through mobile phone. This is done to take care of the case wherein the user does not take the medicine in spite of the alarm system functioning properly. In such a scenario the system will send in an SMS to the relative, mentioning that the medicine hasn’t been taken yet.
Features
Functional
1. Reminders Ramp
2. Social Support
3. Refill Coordination
4. Doctor Accountability
Technical
The whole system is governed by a micro controller which is the core to the functioning of the whole system. The micro controller interfaced to various sensors, input/output devices, timing modules and communication modules is responsible for the proper management and functioning of the all these components.
The code for the necessary function of the microcontroller is written in C programming language and it is then burnt into the microcontroller. The microcontroller used here is Atmega168.The microcontroller is interfaced with a lot of devices. This includes a sensor for detecting the pill usage, LCD, timing module, Hex keypad, power supply and a GSM module.
The sensor part is used to detect the pill usage by the patient. If there is any problem with pill intake by the patient or if the system is not functioning properly, then the sensor senses the problem and an alarm is given to inform the concerned ones about the problem. The relatives are also informed about this by sending an SMS. The GSM module is used for this purpose. The contacts of patients close relative will already be stored in the device. And so the message will be sent to everyone. The timer module is used to set the interval for dispensing the pill at the right time. The user can adjust the time as per the requirement. The Hex keypad is used to enter the time required by the user. With the help of a LCD, the user will be able to see the time entered.