Communications of the ACM
Paypal Founder's Fellowship Hatches Medication Reminder App
A new medication reminder app learns the user's medication schedule via their phone's Wi-Fi signal, GPS data, and accelerometer, and recommends that they check their phone when they wake up.
Credit: Forbes
Delian Asparouhov, a 2013 Thiel Fellow, has developed Nightingale, a medication reminder app that he believes patients will want to continue to use after the novelty wears off. Asparouhov says patients will be motivated to work with Nightingale because it is easy to use and personal data can be quickly entered.
The app runs in the background and detects activity when it is not open. Nightingale learns the user's schedule and when they take medication via their phone's Wi-Fi signal, global positioning system data, and accelerometer, and recommends that they check their phone when they wake up. The automated detection process, in addition to the patients entering when they take their medication, enables the app to provide a customized medication reminder. Nightingale will eventually ask users how they feel and how their activity level is affected based on whether they take their medication.
The fellowship, backed by PayPal founder Peter Thiel, enabled Asparouhov, 19, to leave Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) for two years to focus on the project. Asparouhov created the app with Eric Bakan, another MIT student.
From InformationWeek
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