IoT-based Smart Liquid Medicine Dispenser for Dysphagia Symptom Patients

Since the onset of the COVID-10 pandemic in Malaysia from 2020, a significant shortage of medical staff has been revealed due to the rising number of patients. Especially when Movement Control Order (MCO) finished, the critical ill patients such as patient with heart disease, kidney failure, stroke, and diabetes returned to emergency departments, causing the medical staffs overwhelming. Additionally, the issue of shortage of nurses in Malaysia had always been the major problem. With the rising of patients, the workload of existing nurses in Malaysia increased and hence directly immense pressure on them. In order to solve the insufficient medical staffs, smart pill box had been invented in the market nowadays. With its automatically dispensing pills and tablets system in time, the patients able to take their medication without the aid of nurses. However, it does not benefit to some groups of patients. For example, elderly, children and the patients with dysphagia symptom, they had difficulty in shallowing pills and tablets. Therefore, the main objective of this project is to design and develop a IoT based smart liquid medicine dispenser that is made ofperistaltic liquid pump, DC motor driver module, ultrasonic sensor, and passive buzzer. Additionally, Arduino Cloud IoT Remote application is utilized as the IoT platform. This product will provide the similarities function as the smart pill box, but it is dispensing liquid medicine. Furthermore, this product is designed to offer all the necessary features in an affordable price and it benefits patients with dysphagia symptom as well as children and the elderly with its accurate dispensing of liquid medications. As a result, the prototype able to dispense liquid medicine in the accuracy of 98% to 100%.