Smart eyedrop dispenser may improve adherence, clinical trial efficiency
Keith Barton MD, FRCP, FRCS, opened the Ophthalmology Futures European Forum 2016 in Copenhagen. Leading clinicians, drug and device developers, manufacturers and venture capitalists discussed what’s in the ophthalmology technology pipeline.
A smart eye drop dispenser that detects when and how patients take their drops, and connects them with reminders when needed, could improve medication adherence and patient outcomes, according to Sina Fateh, CEO of Kali Care, Mountain View, California, USA. The system also could greatly reduce the number of patients needed for new drug trials, Fateh told the Ophthalmology Futures European Forum 2016 in Copenhagen, Denmark.
The Kali Care device combines motion detecting sensors and environmental sensors with wireless technology, and can be attached to any eye drop bottle, Fateh said. All bottle movements are detected and recorded, and transmitted to a data centre for analysis. When patients fail to take their drops, they can be reminded by an alarm on the device itself, a text message, or a call from a nurse or trial monitor, depending on their needs, he added.
The data centre creates a model of precisely how each patient takes their drops in the first few days of use. Thereafter, the system can distinguish whether the patient took the drops or someone else did based on the individual movement model, Fateh said.
In tests, adherence to medication increased significantly after patients received a reminder, in some cases from about 24 per cent to 95 per cent or more, Fateh said. Similar improvements in clinical practice could greatly improve patient outcomes, and would make it possible to reduce patient panels for clinical trials by eliminating data noise created by unknown non-adherence.
“Compliance to eye drops remains a serious problem. We have a very unique solution,” Fateh said.