Across the world patients are burdened with regular self-injection to treat chronic diseases. Many patients struggle to cope with self-injections, the complex set-up of their injection system and anxiety it causes. Contributing factors:
- Training from healthcare professionals can be inconsistent and infrequent
- Instructional leaflets are overwhelming, poorly structured and may be ignored by patients
- Self-injection of medication is stressful for patients. This may lead to ineffective delivery of their
therapy or injury, causing further issues
- Patients struggle with complex preparation and assembly steps
The current approach to medical packaging and instructions is not working. To solve issues around self-injection we aimed to reduce the emotional and cognitive burden on patients and look for ways to enhance their experience.
AudioPack augments traditional printed instructions with audio guidance that is activated by touch-sensitive paper. The aim is to give patients extra guidance to help overcome anxiety when starting a new treatment. The integration of printed electronics into medical packaging is an innovative and unique approach to helping patients.
With AudioPack, instructions are delivered by an avatar named Ana, who guides the patient through step-by-step use of their new medical device – an injector, for example. The intuitive design aims to simplify the treatment process for less tech-savvy users or patients with cognitive issues caused by their disease. As well as improving the patient experience, AudioPack can help cut clinical costs – reducing the time doctors and nurses need to spend instructing patients on their new medications.
Beyond disease management, smart medical packaging could be used as a training tool for healthcare staff. It also has the potential to reduce errors and anxiety when a device is required for use in an emergency situation.
This content was originally posted on Cambridge Consultants' website. Cambridge Consultants develops breakthrough products, creates and licenses intellectual property and provides business consultancy in technology critical issues for clients worldwide. For more than 50 years, the company has been helping its clients turn business opportunities into commercial successes, whether they are launching first-to-market products, entering new markets or expanding existing markets through the introduction of new technologies.
