MedTime

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  logo we created

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  after some grinding

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  diagrams

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  brainstorming

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  code blocks

Inspiration

As a team of inexperienced but passionate programmers, our group brainstormed how we could effectively optimize existing ideas instead of reinventing the wheel. It so happened that group member Daniel had come up with the idea of making a medicine timer, which was already there, but also adding some kind of verification in order to ensure that the patient actually took the medicine. We quickly found out that only a video verification could truly prove that a patient had been following the regimen. After some research, we further concluded that patients following their prescription was necessary and crucial, such as to prevent bacterial resistance, and so we decided to create the MedTime app. This app not only sends a notification at the time to take medicine but also asks the user send a verification video to another user who would be a guardian or nurse.

What it does

MedTime, we believe, is the first app that both reminds patients to take their medication, and requires absolute verification. With a focus on more serious medications and prescriptions, MedTime allows both guardians (ie nurses) and patients to use the app. For example, a guardian and his or her patient will create an account on the MedTime app, and then the guardian will link the account to the patient. The guardian is then responsible for inputting the patient's prescription medicine and time information, and then the patients will have that information appear on their screen when they log in. When the time to take the medicine is reached, the patients will receive a notification asking them to record a video to send back to the guardian for verification. This way the guardian can monitor if the patient is absolutely following the prescription, especially if the medication is serious. This app also has basic features such as changing account passwords and viewing account information.

How we built it

We decided to build MedTime using MIT's App Inventor, because of its simplicity and nice user interface tools. The App Inventor allowed us to achieve man of our goals for features, and helped our team improve their logical thinking without getting lost in complex code. The process of our engineering started with first a brainstorm of features we wanted, then drawing diagrams of the different screens, and finally coding and debugging with some touches for beauty.

Challenges we ran into

One challenge the team faced was setting up a web server. At first we wanted to have the app fully functional, able to store information in a database, but none of us were skilled in php or mysql and we had a frustrating time trying to understand and get a database to work, taking many hours. We ended up just using the local database on the phone just for a proof of concept and working demo. We also took a while trying to finalize the app idea and did not have any meeting time beforehand, therefore we lost a bit of time in the beginning just brainstorming.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

WE MADE IT TO SWAMPHACKS! And we are proud of actually getting an app to work, many of us for our first time. We really enjoyed seeing our ideas come to life, and to be able to share this experience together at swamphacks. Despite the frustrations, especially from trying to connect our app to a GoDaddy domain, we endured and saw fruit which was very encouraging!

What we learned

We all had our first experience with android development, and learned the different aspects of making an application. We learned various technical skills and ways to dynamically program, even on app inventor, in order to make the program achieve a goal quickly. We also learned a lot from going to the workshops and even being blessed to have mentors and sponsors come over when we needed help. Ultimately, we learned to persevere through all the frustrations and enjoy this time. The app actually working was just a bonus!

What's next for MedTime

We plan to continue optimizing and refining MedTime, and translating it into java to make use of OOP and more powerful and flexible features. We eventually plan to release the app into the app store, and hope that it may be a blessing to society!

Built With

• mit-app-inventor