Every few years, a new startup takes a stab at pill dispensers to help with medication adherence and prevent people from accidentally taking more than they should. It makes sense: For many of us, as we get older, more and more drugs join the lineup that keeps us going. Unfortunately, memories become fuzzy, and forgetting to take — or doubling up on — medication can have disastrous consequences. My note is an Italian startup TechCrunch met at CES 2024. The company is taking a fresh look at the market, with a beautiful device to keep its users’ medication intake on track.
“We are doctors and in our work, we realized that 75% of chronic patients take no less than four different kinds of drugs. So we created the smallest automatic pill dispenser with the smallest footprint,” says Dr. Roee Dvir, CEO and founder of RGF Diagnostics, the company behind the Memo, adding, “It’s a medical device that doesn’t look like a medical device.”
Dr. Dvir makes an important point — the company is not without competitors, but the best known (Hero, e-Pill station, Medready) look like they belong in hospitals, at best.
My note is a closed box that makes the medicine inside inaccessible — useful for preventing the occasional theft and keeping children safe, for example.
The My Memo pill dispenser is a toaster-like marvel of technology with a sensor that will make medication adherence much easier. Image Credits: TechCrunch / Haje Kamps
“We created a mobile app that acts as a clinical diary that you can view as a caregiver, physician or patient,” says Dr. “You get all the real-time notifications and alarms in the app, helping you manage all your medications, both those that can be loaded onto the device and those that can’t – like liquids, inhalations or injections.”
The product takes a health team approach to medication adherence, empowering older and sicker users, but enabling caregivers and healthcare professionals to monitor as well.
“In real time, you get all the information from the device. If a patient didn’t take their medication, you know that as a caregiver and you can call them and say, you didn’t take your medication, how come?” says Dr. Dvir. “There are also many sensors on the device: Temperature, humidity, GPS, Bluetooth. It looks very simple and a bit retro. The watch acts as a notification indicator.”
The product is already available in Europe and the company is working on FDA approval to be able to sell it in the US. The device supports up to four medications, but if a user has more, they can add additional devices to add support in increments of four — up to 12 different medications.
