Medi Voice Case Study

When ISRI were approached for support in developing talking book technology, the initial idea generation process produced a novel innovation which solved a completely different challenge – an audio device with 'talking technology' to help patients take their medicines as prescribed.

Getting patients to take medicines properly is a major issue for health professionals. People take the wrong drug, at the wrong time, in the wrong quantities. Often the drugs aren't taken at all. Similarly designed pills and packaging, use of small type in information leaflets and fiddly bottles cause all sorts of problems for the elderly, partially sighted or illiterate. 194,500 deaths a year in the EU are due to incorrect doseage and noncompliance of prescribed medication.

Non-compliance is estimated to cost the European Union €125bn annually, of which €2.25bn is paid by Europe's struggling SME pharmacist community.

A solution is needed to ensure that all patients take the right medicine at the right time. Having been approached by engineering firm Audio International, it's a solution ISRI is delighted to have helped bring to fruition. To do so, ISRI brought together a consortium of nine organisations to conduct the two and a half year project. With EU Framework funding to the value of just under €700,000, the consortium developed a wallet-style pack incorporating a solidstate audio device that provides users with audio medication reminders and dosage information. Fittingly, it is called MEDI-VOICE.

The product prompts the patient to take the prescribed drugs in the correct quantity at the correct time through a recorded voice system. Spoken instructions and a user friendly interface enable blind/partially sighted patients to use it. Electronics in the tablet wallet enable dosing confirmation to be communicated to the user and also records usage information for later analysis by the patient's GP or pharmacist.

Successful trials with the Royal National Institute for the Blind (RNIB) have led to the MEDI-VOICE device being taken up and licenced by a major pharmaceutical company who will be exploring uses including as packaging for pharmaceuticals, via national or private health services, to insurers and direct to consumers through supermarkets and retailers.