MediCheck

My grandma recently died of Alzheimers and so I wanted to build something related to alzheimers. We thought about how we could use the technology of today to better the lives of those living with alzheimers. It is very difficult for patients in the early stages of Alzheimers who live alone to keep track of what medications they need take along with doctors visits on a daily basis. While there are many tools such as smartphones that most of us use to keep track of such things, it can be near impossible for early stage patients to use such devices effectively everyday. The best way for them to easily get such information is through a voice communication system.

Using the Amazon echo we can take user input and keep track of recurring medication and their doses, as well tracking when and where doctor's appointments are. We also have the power to remind users about taking medicine, and upcoming appointments. We added the functionality that if the user refuses to take medication we contact an emergency contact and alert them.

Using Amazon's aws server, we were able to pull from the Amazon echo API and communicate with echo and based on time or user input had the device respond to certain actions and situations accordingly.

At first we thought of using a pebble watch because it was cheap and was very portable which is important for the elderly especially. We found however that the interface for the pebble was way too small for them to read or use, and it also didn't have voice capabilities, which was a critical part of our design as it allows easier use for seniors. After choosing Echo we had trouble getting access to the Amazon API for Echo because it costs money. We found a way later using aws to get around that.

The integration of Amazon skill set because this our first Hackathon and we spent a lot of time researching how to use the skill set. So it was satisfying when we got it to work.

We had to learn JavaScript on the fly for aws but thankfully it was very similar to regular Java. We also learned the ins and outs of Amazon skill set.

The ideal system in the future can run on a smartwatch like device that is always with the patient and can give them necessary reminders wherever they are. Such a device would be stand alone and include sound and vibration. We would also like to add a web application that allows doctors to input more detailed information for the patient from a remote location.

Built With

• echo
• javascript