Smart Device for the Elderly from BAU Students

Setting out with elderly people who take medication in mind, university students remind patients when and how to take their medication with the smart device they designed, called "Medication Time" . The device, which has compartments that can hold medication of any size and enough capacity for a month's supply of tablets of 10 different medications, reminds patients with a signal by releasing the medication to be taken into the tray section when the time comes.

Rolling up their sleeves to make life easier especially for elderly people who have to take medication regularly, senior students of the Bahçeşehir University (BAU) Faculty of Educational Sciences, Department of Computer Education and Instructional Technologies (CEIT) designed a device called Medication Time. Through codes previously entered into the system, the device reminds the patient which medication to take, at what time, and whether to take it on an empty or full stomach, releasing the required medication into the medication tray exactly on time. The tray section also has a lock so that young children do not accidentally take the medication in the tray.

Noting that there are various devices around the world for medication reminders, the students stated that, unlike others, the device they designed has compartments that can hold medication of any size and enough capacity to hold a month's supply of tablets of 10 different medications.

Sevgi Namlı, Olena Vlasenko, Onur Aykut, Yasin Elbüz and Hasan Demir, the students who carried out the project, and their project advisors, BAU CEIT faculty member Prof. Dr. Tufan Adıgüzel and Specialist Meltem Özmutlu, spoke to an AA reporter about the device.

Stating that when starting the project they thought about "what could be done" from the perspective of the elderly, Prof. Dr. Tufan Adıgüzel said that his students carried out the necessary field research by visiting places such as nursing homes.

Adıgüzel said: "There are people who live alone, or even if they do not live alone, who have high blood pressure, diabetes or high cholesterol and are trying to hold on to life with medication, but who cannot follow the instructions regarding their medication correctly. I asked my students to do research on this. Thinking about whether to take medication on an empty stomach in the morning, on a full stomach or at bedtime is a difficult process, especially when the number of medications is high. For our own parents, this number can rise to 10-15. The students researched this situation, and the idea of how we could produce a solution emerged."

Sevgi Namlı, one of the students and the project's team leader, described how the idea came about:

"As part of our graduation project, we started by thinking about what problems exist around us. My group members and I agreed on the problem of elderly family members forgetting to take their medication. We needed to do field research. We went to a nursing home and conducted a survey. We obtained data showing that the elderly use a lot of medication and that caregivers at the nursing home also have difficulty with the times at which medications must be taken. When we shared this with our professors, it became clear that this was a need."

Stating that they primarily target the elderly with the device, Namlı added that it would also make things easier for individuals who use a lot of medication, as well as nurses and caregivers.

Namlı said: "The device is suitable for medication of any size. It both reminds the person and drops the medication into the tray, reminding them to take it. If they need to take 2 medications in the morning, those two medications drop into the tray and an alarm sounds. The device can be carried in a bag, so it can easily be taken along while traveling."

- Can be used by those staying at home under coronavirus measures

Stating that elderly people staying at home under coronavirus measures need such reminders even more during this period, Demir, one of the students, made the following assessment:

"Even though I am 23 years old, I take many medications and even I can forget. If even I experience these problems, elderly citizens with chronic illnesses experience them even more. Since elderly citizens have to stay at home in the current situation, we thought our project could also be used in this regard."

Describing the design phase of the machine, Elbüz said the project consists of 3 main parts: mechatronics, electronics and software.

- "We designed it with the elderly in mind"

Stating that the design part took a lot of their time, Elbüz continued:

"When thinking about the design, we designed it entirely with the elderly in mind. We made the buttons large and designed it to make it easy for the elderly to use. The device has 3 sections. The first is the top lid; after opening the lid, there is the section where we fill in the medication. The second section is where we can set the medication times. The last section is the drawer at the bottom, which we call the tray, where the medication goes when its time comes. The medication whose time has come, for example one that must be taken at 9:00 in the morning, waits on the main screen and drops into the tray when its time comes at 9:00."

Stating that the device is currently in the patent process, the students said they are looking for supporters for their project in order to move into production.