Project

# Title Team Members TA Documents Sponsor
17 PillSafe - Smart Pillbox Lid
 Apoorva Nadella
Sumuk Rao
Yan-Jun Fang
 William Zhang design_document2.pdf
design_document3.pdf
final_paper1.pdf
photo1.jpg
photo2.jpg
presentation1.pptx
proposal1.pdf
video1.mp4
# PillSafe - Smart Pillbox Lid

Team Members:
- Sumuk Rao (sumuksr2)
- Apoorva Nadella (nadella3)
- Yan-Jun Fang (yjfang2)

# Problem
The opioid epidemic has been a rising issue, and although there are some efforts to decrease this, none have been very successful. There needs to be a stricter way of informing a doctor when a patient is susceptible to addiction without taking away complete control from them. A pill cap that counts the number of pills coming from the box and sends that data to the doctor is a solution that could help greatly with this epidemic. The current design is big and simple, and we want to improve upon this by optimizing the size and functionality.

# Solution
A smart medication pillbox with a built in mechanical component, wireless transmission capabilities, and an accompanying app to track the number of pills taken out of the pill box. To ensure accurate measurements of the number of pills taken out, we use a mechanical pill dispenser system to limit only one pill to be taken out at a time.

link is here: https://youtu.be/iwnlcyby1cw?start=69

A small laser will be pointing across the opening of the pill box where pills can exit, while a photoresistor is placed on the other side of the opening, receiving the laser. The laser is blocked whenever a pill is taken out, which is sensed via the photoresistor, and this data is displayed on a small monitor, alongside being transmitted wirelessly to an app.



# Solution Components

## Pill Dispenser

The purpose of this subsystem is to dispense one pill at a time and record when a pill has been dispensed. This will consist of only a mechanical solution. As seen in the GIF above, due to the movement of the levers and angle of the opening, it is guaranteed that when a pill comes out, only one pill is pushed out of the bottle at a time. Currently planning on using a custom 3D printed module.

## Laser and Photoresistor
The laser and photoresistor work together in order to sense when a pill is about to be released from the pillbox. The laser shines a constant light across the small tunnel where the pill resides just before being released, while the photoresistor is positioned to receive this light. Whenever the pill dispenser mechanism is used and a pill is loaded, the pill will block the laser light, which is then sensed by the photoresistor. This signals that a pill will be released.
Red Dot Mini and Tiny Size Laser Modules - Quarton Inc. - Laser Diodes, Laser Modules | Online Catalog | DigiKey Electronics

## Bluetooth Module
The Bluetooth Module is responsible for sending signals to an external device updating the number of pills taken out of the pillbox. Whenever the photodiode detects that a pill is loaded, a signal is sent wirelessly via bluetooth to a connected device. The original design of the Smart Pillbox created by Ariana uses part “”, which is too large. We hope to instead use one of the following smaller modules:

Amazon.com: 1 pcs lot DA14580 smallest bluetooth module Bluetooth 4.0 4.1 low energy bluetooth module : Electronics
Amazon.com: HiLetgo HC-05 Wireless Bluetooth RF Transceiver Master Slave Integrated Bluetooth Module 6 Pin Wireless Serial Port Communication BT Module for Arduino : Electronics
How to Choose a Bluetooth Module For Your Project - Tutorial Australia (core-electronics.com.au)

## Mobile App
A mobile app running on an external device is used to store the number of pills taken out of the pillbox. The app will have users, so that doctors would have to log in with credentials to see their patients' data. The doctors will also get an alert if the patient takes out more pills than their dosage, so that the doctor can follow up and prevent any future issues.

## Connection Interface
A connection interface that the pillbox can connect to an external machine for data management purposes. Currently, we envision the dock allowing doctors to set the number of pills the pillbox starts with, a daily recommended intake amount, and data on when pills were taken and the amount.

## Counter Display
One feature we are aiming to tackle is displaying the count of the pills left inside the bottle. This will be done using an LED display which will display the counts. We are hoping to use the component “4041AH-33” as a display for these numbers.

## Memory
The memory module stores information about pill usage, such as the dates when pills were taken out and how many, along with other information such as daily recommended dosage and remaining pill count.

# Criterion For Success
1. The Mechanical system should successfully deposit only one pill at a time.
2. The photoresistor will accurately sense when a pill is blocking the laser.
3. The bluetooth component will communicate when a pill is dispensed.
4. This data will be communicated to the mobile app as well as the display on the cap.
5. The Pill dock only allows for doctors to modify certain values(daily recommended dosage, starting amount), and displays data on when pills were taken and how many. -- Not wanted, can consider

Habit-Forming Toothbrush Stand

John Kim, Quinn Palanca, Rahul Vasanth

Habit-Forming Toothbrush Stand

Featured Project

I spoke with a TA that approved this idea during office hours today, and they said I should submit it as a project proposal.

# Habit-Forming Toothbrush Stand

Team Members:

- Rahul Vasanth (rvasant2)

- Quinn Andrew Palanca (qpalanc2)

- John Jung-Yoon Kim (johnjk5)

# Problem

There are few habits as impactful as good dental hygiene. Brushing teeth in the morning and night can significantly improve health outcomes. Many struggle with forming and maintaining this habit. Parents might have a difficult time getting children to brush in the morning and before sleep while homeless shelter staff, rehab facility staff, and really, anyone looking to develop and track this habit may want a non-intrusive, privacy-preserving method to develop and maintain the practice of brushing their teeth in the morning. Keeping track of this information and but not storing it permanently through a mobile application is something that does not exist on the market. A small nudge is needed to keep kids, teenagers, and adults of all ages aware and mindful about their brushing habits. Additionally, many tend to zone out while brushing their teeth because they are half asleep and have no idea how long they are brushing.

# Solution

Our solution is catered toward electric toothbrushes. Unlike specific toothbrush brands that come with mobile applications, our solution applies to all electric toothbrushes, preserves privacy, and reduces screen time. We will implement a habit-forming toothbrush stand with a microcontroller, sensors, and a simple LED display that houses the electric toothbrush. A band of sensors will be wrapped around the base of the toothbrush. Lifting the toothbrush from the stand, turning it on, and starting to brush displays a timer that counts seconds up to ten minutes. This solves the problem of brushing too quickly or losing track of time and brushing for too long. Additionally, the display will provide a scorecard for brushing, with 14 values coming from (morning, night) x (6daysago, 5daysago, . . . , today) for a "record" of one week and 14 possible instances of brushing. This will augment the user's awareness of any new trends, and potentially help parents, their children, and other use cases outlined above. We specifically store just one week of data as the goal is habit formation and not permanent storage of potentially sensitive health information in the cloud.

# Solution Components

## Subsystem 1 - Sensor Band

The sensor band will contain a Bluetooth/Wireless Accelerometer and Gyroscope, or Accelerometer, IR sensor (to determine height lifted above sink), Bluetooth/Wireless connection to the microcontroller. This will allow us to determine if the electric toothbrush has been turned on. We will experiment with the overall angle, but knowing whether the toothbrush is parallel to the ground, or is lifted at a certain height above the sink will provide additional validation. These outputs need to be communicated wirelessly to the habit-forming toothbrush stand.

Possibilities: https://www.amazon.com/Accelerometer-Acceleration-Gyroscope-Electronic-Magnetometer/dp/B07GBRTB5K/ref=sr_1_12?keywords=wireless+accelerometer&qid=1643675559&sr=8-12 and individual sensors which we are exploring on Digikey and PCB Piezotronics as well.

## Subsystem 2 - Toothbrush Base/Stand and Display

The toothbrush stand will have a pressure sensor to determine when the toothbrush is lifted from the stand (alternatively, we may also add on an IR sensor), a microcontroller with Bluetooth capability, and a control unit to process sensor outputs as well as an LED display which will be set based on the current state. Additionally, the stand will need an internal clock to distinguish between morning and evening and mark states accordingly. The majority of sensors are powered by 3.3V - 5V. If we use a battery, we may include an additional button to power on the display (or just have it turn on when the pressure sensor / IR sensor output confirms the toothbrush has been lifted, or have the device plug into an outlet.

# Criterion For Success

1. When the user lifts the toothbrush from the stan and it begins to vibrate (signaling the toothbrush is on), the brushing timer begins and is displayed.

2. After at least two minutes have passed and the toothbrush is set back on the stand, the display correctly marks the current day and period (morning or evening).

3. Track record over current and previous days and the overall weekly record is accurately maintained. At the start of a new day, the record is shifted appropriately.

Project Videos