Advanced E-Team : uBox

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Advanced E-Team Grant Profile

uBox
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2007
$19,930.00

Though many of the world’s worst diseases can be treated with drugs, the problem of adherence--—patients correctly following the timing and dosage of long, complex prescriptions—--remains a major challenge in public health, especially in the developing world. To combat the problem, this E-Team has created uBox, a cheap, rugged, “smart” pillbox designed for rural communities in the developing world.

UBox is a palm-sized plastic container with sixteen compartments. The user rotates the top handle clockwise to expose a new compartment, and pulls down a small lid at the base of the device to retrieve medication. A simple electronic timer records each time the lid is lowered to remove pills, creating a log of when the patient takes the medication. Further, healthcare workers who are assigned to ensure patients take their pills are given a USB-like modified audio plug and insert it into a port on top of the uBox when visiting a patient. The uBox records the time and date of this action, allowing for healthcare worker tracking as well.

Key Faculty

Professor Rohan Abeyaratne, Advisor, Mechanical Engineering

Assistant Director, OSP Colleen Leslie, Advisor, Office of Sponsored Programs

Associate Director of Drug Access Inder Singh, Advisor, Clinton Foundation HIV/AIDS Initiative

Executive Director, Poverty Action Lab Rachel Glennerster, Advisor, Economics

Director, Poverty Action Lab Abhijit Banerjee, Advisor, Economics

Assistant Professor David Jones, Advisor, Program in Science, Technology, and Society

Founder and President Tenzin Priyadarshi Shukla, Advisor,

Lecturer Enku Kebede-Francis, Advisor, Public Health and Family Medicine

Senior Principal Zach Jonasson, Advisor,

Clinical Professor of Medicine Thomas Moulding, Advisor,

Chairman and Chief Medical Officer Vikram Sheel Kumar, Advisor,

Associate Professor Saman Amarasinghe, Advisor, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science

Senior Lecturer Amy Smith, Advisor, Mechanical Engineering View faculty profile >>

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