SmartPilot™: Smart NFC-Based Patient Support
SCHREINER MEDIPHARM
SmartPilot™: Smart NFC-Based Patient Support
For innovative patient support, Swissbased Ypsomed developed the SmartPilot™—an electronic add-on for the YpsoMate® autoinjector. An NFC-Label developed by Schreiner MediPharm is applied to the injection aid and serves as the communication interface. It connects the SmartPilot ™ with the autoinjector, thus transforming it into a smart self-medication tool.
YpsoMate® is an autoinjector for self-medication of a wide range of pharmaceutical substances and in diverse therapeutic areas. To turn this conventional injection platform into a smart device, Ypsomed developed the Smart-Pilot™. The reusable add-on with embedded sensor technology is both easy to handle and clever: The autoinjector is pushed into the SmartPilot™ and automatically recognized by means of the NFC-Label applied to the injection aid. The information stored on the NFC chip is used by the SmartPilot™ and can be transmitted to a related smartphone app via a Bluetooth connection.
At the heart of the technology behind his connected device is the interlinking of diverse sensors and the label with an integrated NFC chip which Schreiner MediPharm adapted to YpsoMate®. The NFC chip identifies and authenticates the medicine and checks its expiration date. According to the prescribed therapy, the patient can be guided in real time through the injection process or feedback on the correct administration of the medicine can be transmitted. It is also possible to store the entire injection history in detail—from the injection time and its success through to the patient’s well-being—and to share it with other stakeholders. The attending physician, for instance, is then able to use this information to adjust the continuing therapy plan.
The integration of NFC technology, which has to ensure reliable reading, in a very small space posed the primary challenge in this label development. Subsequent ease of processing was another specified objective. The result of the development cooperation with Ypsomed is an innovative solution for pharmaceutical manufacturers who are now able to provide patients with the SmartPilot™ as a valuable tool supporting them in their self-medication.
About Ypsomed
Ypsomed headquartered in Burgdorf (Switzerland) is a leading developer and manufacturer of injection and infusion systems for self-medication and a specialist in diabetes care. The company is a partner of pharmaceutical and biotech companies for pens, autoinjectors and pump systems for administering liquid medications. Ypsomed has around 2,400 employees worldwide.
