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‘Never miss your drugs again with new device’

By Chukwuma Muanya, Assistant Editor
21 November 2017   |   3:48 am
'Popit' uses a microphone to hear the 'pop' sound of a pill being pressed out of the packet and a touch-sensor to detect whether the packet has been handled.

*Digital pill that tracks when patients take it approved

A new device has been created that can clip onto birth control packs to make sure women remember to take their daily pill.

‘Popit’ uses a microphone to hear the ‘pop’ sound of a pill being pressed out of the packet and a touch-sensor to detect whether the packet has been handled.

Created by Helsinki-based company, Popit Limited, the device connects to smartphones and if a pill has not been taken, an alert will be sent as a reminder.

The Popit Sense app also stores data about pill consumption and can alert women if they have taken more pills than they should have.

The small clip has a suggested retail price of £59 ($79) and requires the download of an application onto a Android or iPhone.

Teemu Piirainen, Popit Limited Chief Executive Officer (CEO), said: “This kind of technology hasn’t been available before and it opens up exciting new possibilities.

“The investment will enable us to pursue our vision of quantifying medication – we track pills and support the patient in staying on track with medical treatment.”

Also, United States (U.S.) regulators have approved the first digital pill with an embedded sensor to track if patients are taking their medication properly, marking a significant step forward in the convergence of healthcare and technology.

The medicine is a version of Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co Limited’s established drug Abilify for schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and depression, containing a tracking device developed by Proteus Digital Health.

The system offers doctors an objective way to measure if patients are swallowing their pills on schedule, opening up a new avenue for monitoring medicine compliance that could be applied in other therapeutic areas.

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