Pill Box Uses Date, Alarms, & Visual Aids to Promote Adherence
To address consumer nonadherence to prescription medication, Martin Cooper began a project based on a simple idea: Create a talking system of remembering your daily medications using the date of the month. The result is The MedCenter System, which emphasizes the date rather than the day of the week. The date is located on each pill box and pill cavity, the visual display of the clock, as well as audibly during the alert messages. This repetition of the date helps ensure proper medication adherence, even when the user is unsure whether it is Monday or Tuesday.
The system works in the following steps:
- Load the entire month’s medications into the daily pill boxes (total of 31) and place them into the organizer with their green ends up, showing they are full.
- Set up to four daily alarms to alert users when their medication is due.
- At the beginning of the day, take the correct pill box out of the stand and place it into the “Today’s Pills” tray on the front of the organizer stand.
- A repeating friendly reminder notifies users of the time, the date, and which daily dose to take: “Good morning! Please take your morning pills for the 20th.”
- Press the red “Alarm Acknowledged” button to confirm adherence, and the MedCenter Talking Alarm Clock tells users when the next daily dose is due.
- At the end of the day, return the pill box to the stand with the red end up to show the day’s pills have been taken.
- Press the green “Talk/Time” button at any time for an audible notification of the current time and date.
- Press the blue “Alarm Check” button at any time for an audible notification of the upcoming alarms.
- The clock also features an easy-to-operate, talking, set procedure for all four alarms, the time, and date.
- Large, easy-to-read LCD with backlight makes the clock easy to read, even in the dark.
The MedCenter System has a suggested retail price of $69.95 with the talking LCD clock and $34.95 without it. More products can be found at
http://www.medcentersystems.com/Store.html.
Source.MedCenter Systems. (2013, April 15). New System Provides Innovative Ways to Avoid Missing Prescription Medication [Press release]. Miami, FL: Author.
Wearable Light Device Helps Shift Workers Adjust Body Clock
A nurse’s odd schedule opens the door to a mistimed body clock, the reason behind regular sleeplessness, lower energy levels, and a slower metabolism. To get their body clock back on track, nurses can use the Re-Timer™ wearable light device (
http://www.re-timer.com), which emits a soft green light onto the eyes to emulate sunlight—or the bright light that regulates our body clock. The device can be worn for short periods of time throughout the week depending on individual sleep requirements. For example, to fall asleep earlier and avoid grogginess in the morning, the Re-Timer can be worn for 50 minutes, three times per week, shortly after waking up, thus advancing the body clock and causing users to become tired earlier in the day.
The device is made from a polycarbonate material and uses 100% ultraviolet-free light, making it easy to wear while going about day-today activities at home. It retails for $273.90 and is a natural/safe alternative to sleep-aid drugs and therapy. More about the device can be found on YouTube at
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NoVi0DfpKFw.
Source.BLASTmedia. (2013, May 14). Nursing a Burnout: Re-Timer Device Can Help With That [Press release]. Fishers, IN: Author.
Body Positioning System Keeps Older Adults Upright
Older adults and disabled individuals with compromised upper body strength struggle with being able to sit straight. The Acme Posture Partner (
http://www.acmeposturepartner.com), invented by Susan Childress as a way to help her mother with rheumatoid arthritis, is a one-of-a-kind system that is simple to use in any type of chair. The touch-comfort vinyl can be wiped clean, and the included soft fleece covers are removable and washable. All materials are antimicrobial and flame resistant.
Physical therapist Micky Brewer comments that the product is ideal for wheelchairs and Geri-chairs, providing pressure relief as well as medial and lateral support to allow the patient proper upright positioning and reduces pressure areas.
The Acme Posture Partner can be used in bed for safety, positioning, and comfort. The variety of configurations provides support for the lumbar spine, neck, and head. The system can be arranged to help prevent a person of any age from rolling out of bed and can be used to improve the posture of any individual, not just those with compromised upper body strength.
Source.“Acme Posture Partner, New Body Positioning System Receiving Rave Reviews from the Healthcare Community, Assist the Elderly and Disabled with Sitting Up Straight and Comfortably.” (2013, April 30). Retrieved May 22, 2013, from
http://www.releasewire.com/Associated-Press/102264.pdf.
Product Prevents Canes from Falling Away from Bedside
The Freedom Cane Holder is a new, patented product that ensures the safe-keeping of an individual’s cane while resting in bed, eliminating the worry about the cane falling out of reach while in bed.
The Freedom Cane Holder fits neatly between the box spring and the mattress, providing close, convenient, and secure location of the cane or walking stick. It can be easily assembled in a few minutes (no mounting required), transports easily, and comes with a 20-year limited warranty. It is made of hygienic H-Viewer polymer and is easily cleaned and sterilized. Most medical canes, walking canes, walking sticks, and canes for blind individuals fit in the Freedom Cane Holder.
The product is not intended for use with hospital beds. For more information, visit
http://www.freedomcaneholder.com.
Source.“First Ever Bedside Cane Holder.” (2013, April 25). Retrieved May 22, 2013, from
http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/first-ever-bedside-cane-holder-204713221.html.