Robotic Assistance in Medication Management: Development and Evaluation of a Prototype

Area of Science:

• Gerontology
• Robotics
• Health Informatics

Background:

• Aging populations face challenges with managing multiple medications (polypharmacy).
• Multimorbidity complicates medication management for elderly individuals.
• Ambient Assisted Living (AAL) offers technological solutions for daily life support.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the feasibility of using a humanoid robot for domestic medication management in elderly patients.
• To develop and evaluate a prototype system for medication assistance.

Main Methods:

• Implementation of a prototypical software application on the NAO-robot platform.
• System functionalities include medication reminders, drug-drug interaction checks, compliance documentation, and process assistance.
• Technical and functional evaluation conducted in a laboratory setting.

Main Results:

• The humanoid robot system demonstrated versatile and viable results in laboratory evaluations.
• The prototype successfully supported various aspects of domestic medication management.
• The system's potential for practical application was indicated.

Conclusions:

• Humanoid robot systems show viability for supporting elderly domestic medication management.
• Further research is necessary to assess the system's effectiveness in real-world, applied settings.
• This technology can contribute to improving medication adherence and safety for older adults.