A Pocket-Sized Interactive Pillbox Device: Design and Development of a Microcontroller-Based System for Medicine Intake Adherence

Medicine intake, as prescribed by physicians and health care providers, is important not only for minimizing the risk of relapse but also to treating conditions and improving one’s overall well-being. However, adherence to a medication routine seems to be a problem for some people which is usually affected by a variety of factors such as hectic day-to-day activity schedules, poor prescription instruction, concurrent intake of multiple medications, and forgetfulness. Medication adherence has been then considered as one of the major medical problems globally. In such cases, a medical device that could alert and remind patients in taking their medicines on time will come in handy. Consequently, this study aimed to design and develop a pocket-sized electronic pillbox device using TFT LCD display, Arduino microcontroller, Piezo Buzzer (for sound notification), Eccentric Rotating Mass (for vibration notification), Lithium Ion battery as power source, and plastic organizer as the main body. The said pillbox device will act as a countermeasure for medication non-adherence particularly by patients under the case of polypharmacy. Thus, this study focused on the design and development of the prototype, hardware testing and system qualification only. Furthermore, this paper is part of a future study where the assessment and measure of device behavior and adherence will be conducted to compare whether the utilization of pillbox device has an impact to the people who are using it.