Monday, December 5, 2005

It's Like Pyxis for Your Home

Filed under: Society

In many hospitals, medications and supplies are dispensed by powerful, even tyrannical, Pyxis machines. When the right information is painstakingly entered, Pyxis will unlock the appropriate drawers. Newer models will verbally reprimand you if you fail to close the drawers and log your usage.

Now, patients can experience this kind of electronic abuse in the comfort of their own home:

Unitech Tokyo Co. is selling a home-use device that automatically doles out the correct dosage of prescribed medicine and sounds a warning until the user retrieves the medicine. The device comes with several trays for storing pills. The trays open and offer the medicine at the exact times and frequency set by the user. The drug dispenser continues repeating, "Here is your medicine. Don't forget to take it," until the user retrieves the medicine.

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