Pillmatic

(Automatic Prescription Pill Dispenser) Project Proposal

Motivation We both have loved ones who are on several different types of medication, and have difficulty keeping track of which pills to take at what times. This can lead to obvious complications and immanent dangers. We would like to create a system that will help all people in their situations. We are excited about this project because we feel that it can be the blueprint for what may eventually be a real contribution to the medical industry. This project will also tie in much of the course work we completed during our academic careers here at Illinois. Objective We would like to make a prescription pill dispenser that is programmable for a specific patient. The pill dispenser will be preprogrammed to drop different pills into a holding cup at the specific times the patient needs each pill. Once dropped into the holding cup, there will be several notification/warning systems that alert the patient. If the patient does not take the medication in a timely manner, a third party will be contacted via email. For our working model of this project, we will drop two different types of pills at predetermined time intervals. Each dispenser will drop only one pill at a time. The pill will then travel down a chute into the holding cup. We will have a sensor underneath the holding cup that will notify the third party, if needed. We will most likely use some sort of hard candy to simulate the pills. There will also be an LCD display that will count down to the next dose. Benefits Features Patient will no longer forget to take important prescription medicines Tells the patient the amount of time until the next dose Organizes medication, no confusion between which pills to take No more fumbling with hard to use child safety caps Single pill dispenser that will drop only one pill at a time, as needed Chute that leads into holding cup Sensor under holding cup that will monitor whether the pills were taken Ability to send notification in email if patient does not comply Programmable for two different types of medication at any time of the day Countdown on LCD display of time to next pill dose

Block Diagram/ Description

Pill Reservoir

Pill Dispenser

Pill Holder

Microcontroller

LCD Display/ Audio Alert

Send Wireless Email Notification

User Input

Pill Reservoir The pill reservoir is simply that. It will hold our pills before they are dropped by the pill dispenser. It will either be a long narrow tube that will stack the pills one on top of the other, or a funnel that will eventually lead into a smaller narrow tube. Pill Dispenser The pill dispenser will receive its pills from the pill reservoir. The microcontroller will send it a signal to alert it that a pill must be dropped. The dispenser will only drop one pill at a time. Our first idea for the pill dispenser is based on the concept of a gun revolver. There will be a hole in a squat, wide cylinder that will be the exact height of the pill, allowing only one to drop into it at a time. Once the pill is dropped, the revolver will rotate and push the pill into the chute that leads to the pill holder. The revolver will then rotate back around to the tube leading from the pill reservoir so that the next pill can fall in. Pill Holder The pill holder will be at the end of the chutes coming from the pill dispenser. It will hold the pills in a cup until the patient takes the cup out to take their pills. There will be a sensor/switch under the pill holder that will tell the microcontroller whether the patient has taken the pills. Microcontroller This is the heart/brain of our project, as it will control every other block. The microcontroller will be programmed with the specific times and doses for the patients medications. The microcontroller will output the data for the LCD display. It will send a

signal to the two pill dispensers based on its programming. It will take in signals from the pill holder as well as the user inputs. The microcontroller will also be responsible for stimulating the outside contact when necessary. We are discussing using a PIC16F877 for our microcontroller. LCD Display This component will display the time remaining before the patients next dose and will be run from the microcontroller. We will include some sort of audio alert with the LCD display to notify the patient when to take their medication. Send Wireless Email Notification This will be through email to send a specific message or packet to inform the third party that the patient has not taken his/her medication. The outside contact will be simulated by the microprocessor based on the information given by the sensor under the pill holder. The notification will be sent wirelessly with 80211b protocall. User Input This component will program the device for which pills to dispense at which times. We are right now looking at a switch I/O box for our user interface that will interact directly with the microprocessor. Performance Requirements - Programmable for 2 different prescriptions - Dispense 2 different prescription pill types - Signal for patients compliance sent out within specified time limit (15 min in real day) - LCD countdown display accurate to the minute - Adequate patient alert system that is activated to the minute accuracy - Represent day within short time span (10 minutes) - Verify contact to third party within 25 foot range to host computer - Drop only one pill at a time from a given dispenser, time must be accurate to the minute - Programmable by user input for times accurate to the minute through I/O box Testing Procedures The project is pleasantly modular so we will be able to perform thorough testing of each component before we put it all together. Microcontroller The microcontroller can be tested by sending fake signals to see if desired outputs are produced. The microcontroller is just digital logic and debugging techniques will be used for the most part. Once the code works flawlessly on the simulations we do on the computer, we will test the microprocessor exhaustively with high and low signals on a protoboard. Pill Dispenser

This component must be tested for repeatability. The dispenser will use a stepper motor to turn the revolver cylinder and must be calibrated. Next, the dispenser must be able to consistently drop one pill down the chute everytime it is needed. We must test for variation in this process and eliminate any common cause or special cause sources. The stepper motor will be our main source of variation as it will be the only moving part. Once we have decided on a particular stepper motor, we will have to test its variation and its current regulation. We will also have to test how it responds to variation in input current in case the current from the power supply varies. Once we can get individual 360 rotations at controlled speeds, we will be successful. Send Wireless Email Notificaiton The device we use for outside contact must be consistent as well. It will be receiving only logic highs and lows from the microcontroller, so simulating the signals will not be difficult. We must test the signal strength at different ranges. Wed like the notification system to work within the range of at least 25 ft from a computer. We will test the signal strength at different intervals in multiples of five. Once we are successful at 25 feet, we will consider it a victory. User Input We must be able to program the microcontroller over and over again with to-theminute accuracy. We will create a wide variety of time tests and run trials to see if the device works properly. This will go hand in hand with testing the microcontroller. Tolerance Analysis We would like to test out our motors for the pill dispenser in various situations. One case would be if a pill got stuck and applied physical resistance to the motor. We would like to test if the motor would be able to stay in the right alignment for the ensuing rotations and whether or not the current rotation would be completed. We would like to also test for various changes in power to the motor, in either current or voltage. We would emphasize the variation in current, as this would control the amount of movement in the stepper motors we plan to use. We would like to run tests on the motor for step accuracy, step response, position accuracy, and any potential skips. We would do this by testing with different levels of current and voltages, using short cycles, partial signals, and physical resistances. We want to measure the rotation response, relative to time. The angular position accuracy of a stepper motor varies from one step to the next. This inaccuracy is influenced by the construction of the motor, the load it is driving, and the driver attached to motor.