Automated Medication Dispensing for Dementia
What You Need to Know Before You Apply
What is the purpose of this trial?
Globally, \>47M individuals live with dementia, with new incidence of 7.7M annually. Medication mismanagement is one of the most common and concerning risk factors in people with dementia (PwD), as it leads to undertreatment, emergency room visits, hospital admissions/readmissions, and serious adverse events. 3M older U.S. adults are admitted to nursing homes due to drug-related adherence problems with costs \>$14B/year. Furthermore, 30% of hospital admissions of older adults are drug related with 11% attributed to medication non-adherence and 17% to adverse drug reactions. While Alzheimer's disease (AD) \& type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) individually have considerable morbidity \& mortality, they often occur together, worsening adverse outcomes, quality of life, \& care costs. This is especially true as the AD/DM combination creates a complex balancing act of med management \& symptom monitoring in older populations. While the goal is to keep older adults with dementia at home as long as possible, these challenges lead to untold personal \& family suffering, as well as billions in potentially avoidable healthcare costs annually. The HiDO-ALZ platform will solve these challenges by automating medication administration for PwD to eliminate mismanagement, decrease caregiver burden, reduce healthcare utilization, and facilitate PwD to age in place. HiDO is being developed as an automated, AI driven medication dispensing and direct observation platform to optimize adherence. The device integrates medication dispensing, dose administration time, medication synchronization, \& pair of front-facing cameras to validate the right meds, right route, right time, right dosage to the right patient (5R's). Cameras record every dose using facial recognition \& provide real -time medication consumption recordings. Through cloud connectivity, providers \& caregivers have access to video observation logs, dose administration time, adherence trends, \& longitudinal adherence via web dashboard. Patients \& caregivers can easily setup complex medication protocols in minutes using a smartphone app. The device then alerts patients and dispenses up to 7 different types of meds simultaneously, with up to 90 days of medication. Connected data sources including remote blood pressure and weight measurements, as well as electronic health record lab results and videoconferencing integrate in a single dashboard. The project will build on successful Phase I, in which the medication dispensing unit was updated with modifications for dementia, passed all bench testing, and was successfully validated in pilot usability with dementia subjects. Phase II will expand the foundation with four Aims: 1) Enhance device with remote sensors for diabetes management, expanded data integration, and video conferencing, 2) Test enhanced platform for usability in dementia subjects, 3) Transition the design to formal manufacturing process to ensure system meets performance standards and regulatory requirements \& produce pre-production devices for testing, \& 4) Conduct in-home clinical trial to demonstrate adherence and efficacy.
Do I need to stop my current medications for the trial?
The trial protocol does not specify whether you need to stop your current medications. However, since the trial involves an automated medication dispensing system, it's likely that you will continue taking your current medications as part of the study.
Is automated medication dispensing safe for people with dementia?
The research on automated medication dispensing for people with dementia shows that it can help manage medication use safely, as it reduces potentially inappropriate medications and anticholinergic burden (side effects from certain drugs). However, more studies with larger groups are needed to confirm these safety benefits.12345
How does the HiDO-ALZ treatment differ from other dementia treatments?
What data supports the effectiveness of the treatment HiDO-ALZ for dementia?
Research shows that using an automatic medication dispenser (AMD) can help people with Alzheimer's disease stick to their medication schedule and reduce the burden on caregivers. This suggests that automated systems like HiDO-ALZ might be effective in managing medication for dementia patients.89101112
Are You a Good Fit for This Trial?
This trial is for individuals with dementia, such as Alzheimer's Disease, who also may have type 2 diabetes. Participants should struggle with medication management and adherence. They must be able to use the HiDO-ALZ device which dispenses medications automatically using facial recognition and video monitoring.Inclusion Criteria
Exclusion Criteria
Timeline for a Trial Participant
Screening
Participants are screened for eligibility to participate in the trial
Treatment
Participants in the experimental group receive the HiDO-ALZ platform for automated medication dispensing and monitoring over 12 months
Follow-up
Participants are monitored for safety and effectiveness after treatment
What Are the Treatments Tested in This Trial?
Interventions
- HiDO-ALZ
Find a Clinic Near You
Who Is Running the Clinical Trial?
HiDO Technologies
Lead Sponsor
Rush University Medical Center
Collaborator