Technology for Sale:

Disposable Electronic Chip Technology for Elapsed Time and Compliance Assistance Applications    

Disposable Electronic Chip (DEC) - Visual and/or audio alarms for elapsed time and compliance notification

The Disposable Electronic Chip (DEC) is a very inexpensive and customizable device with virtually unlimited application potential. Two initial functions for the DEC technology have been developed; elapsed time monitoring and notification and compliance assistance. What differentiates the DEC from other electronic products on the market is that the functionality and life span are customized to match the requirements of an intended application. Once that life span ends, the DEC simply stops working, is discarded and replaced as required.

Elapsed Time Monitoring & Notification - Operational Overview - Currently, perishable products including prescribed and non-prescribed tablet medications use a static expiry date to indicate the effective date range of the product. This static expiry date is usually printed on a product container or affixed with a sticker. The problem with this method is that the expiry date is seldom checked, which in many cases either results in products being consumed after expiration has occurred or products being thrown out. The DEC solves this problem by first counting down a specified effective date range and then alerting end users to a product?s status with flashing lights either automatically or whenever motion is detected. A green light mounted on the DECs circuit board flashes during the effective date count down cycle to confirm the product is still valid. Once the effective date has been counted down, a red light mounted on the DECs circuit board flashes to indicate the product has expired and should be replaced. Alternately, the DEC can be programmed to visually indicate when medication in hospital & pharmacy inventories is nearing expiry so that it can be used up or programmed to visually indicate when a prescription needs to be refilled. The DEC would also ideally suited for time sensitive service applications.


Compliance Assistance Operational Overview - The biggest problem with compliance is the current high rate of end user failure in adhering to a prescribed medication or vitamin regimen. The term for this failure is non-compliance. In North America alone, the compliance failure rate for tablet medications is approximately 50%. The DEC is designed to improve the current level of non-compliance by providing electronic visual and/or audio alarms to remind end users of dose times as well as keep track of alarms that have not been manually reset. In compliance assistance applications, the DEC is equipped with a multi-function "Remember Me" button, which is pressed each time tablets or vitamins are taken in the first 24 hours of a prescription. The DEC then memorizes each time the Remember Me button was pressed during the 24 hour period and automatically activates a green visual and/or audio alarm at those same times each day thereafter for the remainder of the tablet medication or vitamin regimen. In addition, the DEC keeps track of up to four dose alarms that have not been reset by the user and automatically activates a single red flash for each missed alarm every five seconds. Depending on the intended compliance assistance application, activating alarms can either be turned off manually or when the tablet medication or vitamin container is picked up.

DEC Benefits

- Reduces the risk of administering expired drugs
- Reduces drug waste
- Accelerated repeat sales through enhanced expiry date notification or improved compliance
- Improved adherence to prescription refills
- Interactive product or service status notification days, weeks, months or years after initial use
- Easily integrated with existing products or services
- Can be private branded
- Inexpensive
- Customizable, application specific
- Little or no programming required
- Higher perceived product or service value
- Discarded after use, no maintenance required

Expiry Date: A disposable product that provides interactive expiry date notification with the consumer months or years after a product has been purchased.

Compliance: Designed to provide a simple but effective short-term compliance aid for vitamins, tablet medications, etc. which is discarded after use.

By incorporating sensors which either activate or de-activate visual and/or audio alarms depending on the application it is programmed for.

Primary initial target markets will include pharmacies for prescription refill, bulk tablet medication monitoring and compliance applications, hospitals for drug monitoring applications and time sensitive service or maintenance applications.

Secondary target markets will include manufacturers of medical devices, birth control dispensers, off-the shelf & prescription tablet or liquid medications and vitamins.

No known competition with regards to disposable electronics for elapsed time and compliance applications found to date.

The DEC will either be encased in a plastic or silicone housing for adhesive attachment to a perishable or compliance product or molded with plastic to form a bottle cap. Manufacturers of perishable and compliance products simply include the relatively moderate cost of the chip in their next scheduled price increase and make the distribution networks that carry their products aware of the innovation. The change would be seemless to end users but they benefit as well by having a perishable or compliance product with enhanced expiry date and compliance notification which is discarded after use.

Standard electronic design using readily available off-the-shelf electronic components. Purchasing electronic component dyes where possible and by incorporating either integrated chip technology or all-polymer chip technology would alter the current design platform.

Prototypes were created for both the expiry date and compliance applications to prove the concept and test the functionality. Currently being re-engineered for mass production.

N/A

We have only disclosed the disposable technology to four manufacturers. All have expressed interest.

Would be open to outright purchase or licensing agreements.