Brandon Koh

•

Krisna

•

kiev

•

Sebastien Wu

Published February 16, 2025

Smart Pill Locker

Our aim is to reduce the number of errors made during distribution of pills, as overworking leads to nurses making potentially fatal mistake

BeginnerShowcase (no instructions)8 hours73

Things used in this project

Hardware components

M5Stack FIRE V2.7

M5Stack Time-of-Flight (ToF) VL53L0X Laser Ranging Unit (MCP4725/)

SG90 Micro-servo motor

FEETECH Standard Servo FS5106B https://www.pololu.com/product/3425

M5Stack Mini RFID Unit RC522 Module Sensor

M5Stack RGB Unit with NeoPixel RGB LED (SK6812)

M5Stack I2C Hub 1 to 6 Expansion TCA9548A Module

Software apps and online services

M5Stack UIFlow

Hand tools and fabrication machines

Multitool, Screwdriver

Tape, Double Sided

Tape, Clear

Hot glue gun (generic)

Story

Over the years Singapore's population has been steadily increasing from approximately 4.0 million in 2003 to 5.9 million in 2023. This growth is largely attributed to the increased in immigration while the average birth rate remains persistently low at around 1.1 to 1.3 children per woman. Coupled with the increasing life expectancy, Singapore is experiencing a rapid population aging with a 11% increase in the proportion of residents aged 65 and above since 2003. This has put an increased strained on the public health system which was evident during the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 where 302.7/1000 residents aged 65 & above were admitted which is more than double that of those aged 15-64. The increased workload would lead to burnout in hospital staffs which can cause them to mistakenly administer the wrong medication to the patient, causing further complications. This project aims to ease the burden on nurses by automating part of the pill distribution process and reducing human error, leading to a more reliable and efficient medical system.

Objectives

To design an intuitive system to use so that nurses do not need to go through extensive training to understand
To reduce the chances of human error as a result of burnout from the high workload
To expedite the process of medication distribution so that patients are able to receive their medications on time.

Research

At Tan Tock Seng Hospital in Singapore, a nurse allegedly administered the wrong medication to a woman, leading to dehydration. This incident underscores the critical importance of accurate medication administration and the potential consequences of errors.
In England, pharmacist Elizabeth Lee was involved in a case where a patient received the wrong medication, leading to significant legal and professional repercussions. This case emphasizes the legal implications of medication errors and the importance of stringent dispensing protocols.
An elderly woman in a New Zealand aged care facility received incorrect doses of blood thinners on six occasions by six different nurses over five months. The errors were not identified until a year later, highlighting systemic failures in medication administration and incident reporting within the facility.

Project

Stock Checker - Uses TOF sensor to check the stocks in the shelf to ensure that the medication is always available
ID Verification - RFID sensor that checks the patients ID and display the medicine required by that patient
Automatic Lock - A motor is used as a locking system to ensure that nurses do not open the wrong locker when it is not needed
RGB Unit - A RGB Unit is used to light up the required locker which makes it easier to find

https://youtu.be/I9JxbUeZR1o

Code

from m5stack import *
from m5ui import *
from uiflow import *
import time
import espnow
import wifiCfg
import unit

setScreenColor(0x222222)
rfid_1 = unit.get(unit.RFID, unit.PORTA)


timer = None
patient_data = None
lockernumber = None
mode = None
addid = None
scanrfid = None

wifiCfg.wlan_ap.active(True)
wifiCfg.wlan_sta.active(True)
espnow.init()

label0 = M5TextBox(10, 112, "Text", lcd.FONT_Default, 0xFFFFFF, rotate=0)
label1 = M5TextBox(10, 67, "Text", lcd.FONT_Default, 0xFFFFFF, rotate=0)
A = M5TextBox(58, 213, "A", lcd.FONT_Default, 0xFFFFFF, rotate=0)
B = M5TextBox(154, 213, "B", lcd.FONT_Default, 0xFFFFFF, rotate=0)
C = M5TextBox(239, 213, "C", lcd.FONT_Default, 0xFFFFFF, rotate=0)
label2 = M5TextBox(10, 160, "Text", lcd.FONT_Default, 0xFFFFFF, rotate=0)

from numbers import Number




patient_data = {}
lockernumber = 0
mode = 0
timer = 20
while True:
  if btnC.wasPressed():
    mode = 0
    A.setText('A')
    B.setText('B')
    C.setText('C')
  if btnA.wasPressed():
    mode = 1
  if btnB.wasPressed():
    mode = 2
  if mode == 0:
    label0.setText('Button B: Search database for patient ID')
    label1.setText('Button A: Add patient ID to database')
    label2.setText('')
    A.setText('A')
    B.setText('B')
    C.setText('C')
  if mode == 1:
    label0.setText('Please scan patient ID')
    label1.setText('Adding to database...')
    C.setText('Back')
    if rfid_1.isCardOn():
      addid = rfid_1.readUid()
      label1.setText(str((str('Patient ID:') + str(addid))))
      label0.setText('Please hold ID in place until done')
      wait(2)
      while rfid_1.isCardOn():
        label1.setText(str((str('Locker number:') + str(lockernumber))))
        label0.setText('Please assign a locker number ')
        label2.setText('(For demo purposes, choose locker no.1)')
        A.setText('+')
        B.setText('-')
        C.setText('')
        if btnA.wasPressed():
          lockernumber = (lockernumber if isinstance(lockernumber, Number) else 0) + 1
        if btnB.wasPressed():
          lockernumber = (lockernumber if isinstance(lockernumber, Number) else 0) + -1
      patient_data[addid] = lockernumber
      label0.setText('Successfully added to database')
      label2.setText('')
      wait(1)
      mode = 0
  if mode == 2:
    label0.setText('Please scan patient ID')
    label1.setText('Searching the database...')
    label2.setText('')
    A.setText('A')
    B.setText('B')
    C.setText('Back')
    if rfid_1.isCardOn():
      scanrfid = rfid_1.readUid()
      label1.setText(str((str('Patient ID:') + str(addid))))
      label0.setText('Please hold ID in place...')
      if scanrfid in patient_data.keys():
        if lockernumber == 1:
          while rfid_1.isCardOn():
            espnow.add_peer('98:f4:ab:6b:9f:c5', id=1, channel=0, ifidx=1, encrypt=False)
            espnow.send(id=1, data=str('on'))
            label0.setText(str((str('Locker number:') + str(lockernumber))))
            for count in range(20):
              label2.setText(str((str(((str('Locker is open for:') + str(timer)))) + str('s'))))
              wait(1)
              timer = (timer if isinstance(timer, Number) else 0) + -1
            espnow.send(id=1, data=str('off'))
        else:
          while rfid_1.isCardOn():
            label0.setText(str((str('Locker number:') + str(lockernumber))))
            label2.setText('Locker number invalid')
      else:
        while rfid_1.isCardOn():
          label2.setText('patient ID not in database')
        label2.setText('')
  wait_ms(2)

from m5stack import *
from m5ui import *
from uiflow import *
import espnow
import wifiCfg
import time
import unit

setScreenColor(0x222222)
servo_7 = unit.get(unit.SERVO, unit.PORTB)
tof_4 = unit.get(unit.TOF, unit.PAHUB1)
pbhub_1 = unit.get(unit.PBHUB, unit.PAHUB0)


receive_data = None
sender_address = None
flag = None
timer = None

wifiCfg.wlan_ap.active(True)
wifiCfg.wlan_sta.active(True)
espnow.init()

title0 = M5Title(title="Title", x=3, fgcolor=0xFFFFFF, bgcolor=0x0000FF)
label0 = M5TextBox(27, 175, "Text", lcd.FONT_DejaVu24, 0xff0000, rotate=0)
label1 = M5TextBox(20, 50, "Locker Number : 1", lcd.FONT_DejaVu24, 0xFFFFFF, rotate=0)
label2 = M5TextBox(20, 107, "Medication: Panadol", lcd.FONT_DejaVu24, 0xFFFFFF, rotate=0)

from numbers import Number




def recv_cb(_):
  global receive_data,sender_address,flag,timer
  sender_address, _, receive_data = espnow.recv_data(encoder='str')
  flag = 1
  if receive_data == 'on':
    pbhub_1.setColorPos(0, 1, 0x33ff33)
    servo_7.write_angle(90)
    for count in range(20):
      label0.setText(str((str(((str('Locker open for: ') + str(timer)))) + str('s'))))
      wait(1)
      timer = (timer if isinstance(timer, Number) else 0) + -1
    pbhub_1.setColorPos(0, 1, 0x000000)
    servo_7.write_angle(0)
    label0.setText('Sufficient Stock')
    flag = 0

  pass
espnow.recv_cb(recv_cb)



flag = 0
timer = 20
title0.setTitle(str(espnow.get_mac_addr()))
label0.setText('Sufficient Stock')
label0.setColor(0xffffff)
while True:
  if flag == 0:
    if int(((tof_4.distance) / 10)) > 20:
      pbhub_1.setColorPos(0, 1, 0xff0000)
      label0.setText('Low Stock Supply')
      label0.setColor(0xff0000)
      wait(1)
      pbhub_1.setColorPos(0, 1, 0x000000)
      wait(1)
    else:
      label0.setText('Sufficient Stock')
      label0.setColor(0xffffff)
  wait_ms(2)

Smart Pill Locker