Vitality, developer of medication adherence device GlowCap, announced during a 2009 company wrap-up video that “four of the top pharmaceuticals companies have committed to distribute their medications for hypertension, transplants and diabetes in GlowCaps.”
Vitality’s GlowCap offering is a medication reminder and compliance service: GlowCaps fit the standard pill container top as a lid that uses short-range wireless technology to monitor when a pillbox is open and when it isn’t. It uses a close-range wireless signal to connect to a gateway hub, which looks like and functions as a nightlight but includes the guts of a mobile phone. That repackaged mobile phone technology runs on AT&T’s network.
Vitality noted that during 2009 it ran clinical trials with both Duke University and Harvard University in order to gather data on how well GlowCaps works. The studies showed that GlowCaps users were compliant to their medication regimens more than 90 percent of the time, according to the company.
In 2009 the company also filed a couple of patents, including one for a button underneath the GlowCaps lid that calls the patient’s pharmacy when pushed. The video’s narrator described the button as “OnStar for your pills.”
Be sure to watch the full 2009 update from Vitality in the video clip below:
Vitality update: Jan 2010 from Vitality on Vimeo.