Phillbox

Overview

In 2018, inaglobe initiated the Phillbox project to enhance medication adherence among children and adolescents at Casa do Gaiato-Maputo, an orphanage in Mozambique. Given the country's high HIV/AIDS prevalence, the orphanage faced challenges in managing chronic illnesses. Healthcare workers and volunteers dedicated significant efforts to manually monitor these conditions. To alleviate this burden, Fundação Encontro and Fundación Mozambique Sur collaborated with inaglobe to develop a system that would streamline medication management.

Motivation & Context

The Phillbox is a smart pillbox designed to inform children when to take specific medications and to provide healthcare workers with insights into adherence patterns. The project's objectives include supporting daily pill distribution, identifying children at risk of low adherence, and offering actionable insights into medication behaviors.

Development Process

The development of the Phillbox underwent three research and development cycles at Imperial College London's Department of Biomedical Engineering. After several iterations, a testable prototype was built in late 2021 by Constance de Cler, a final-year Biomedical Engineering student. Constance's work on the Phillbox allowed her to merge her interests in engineering, design, and social impact.

Impact & Outcomes

The Phillbox project exemplifies how technology can be harnessed to address healthcare challenges in resource-limited settings, aiming to improve medication adherence and overall health outcomes for vulnerable populations.