DUBLIN:Dr Michael Schukat, an IT lecturer at NUI Galway, started thinking about how to monitoring if a patient was adhering to their medication after watching his own elderly parents.

When he researched the area, he found that up 60 per cent of people aged over 65 were on prescribed medication and the non-compliance rate with prescriptions was around 35 per cent.

"When people forget to take their tablets they often feel guilty and dispose of them which can cause huge environmental issues. The other problem is people take all the tablets they forgot in one go to catch up, which is very dangerous," he says.

Based on their feedback from pharmacists, he created a medicine dispenser called DigiSpense.

Requiring only power and access to a GSM network, the system is built around a detachable transparent tray with a separate sections for each day. The tray is refilled on a weekly basis by the local pharmacist with the patient's medication.

The tray is sealed by the pharmacist so it cannot be manipulated, meaning the patient cannot take more than one day's medication.

If the patient forgets to open to the lid to take their medication, the system starts beeping as a reminder with a flashing light. If the reminder doesn't work the system informs a GP or pharmacist by SMS or e-mail alert.

The system can be reprogrammed by the pharmacist.

The dispensing system was developed by engineers hired for 12 months under a grant from the Enterprise Ireland commercialisation fund.

It is also portable, though Dr Schukat expects any commercial version to be far smaller than the prototype.