new ideas...I think.

So, I thought of a couple of new business ideas. Some of you may know that my grandma has dementia. If not, now you know. But, the taking of pills is a constant struggle for her. First thing....she doesn't remember if she's taken pills for the day. Second, the pill-taking process is extremely difficult. Simple things like an inhaler are almost impossible to do without directions.

To solve the first thing, I was thinking that a new type of pillbox would be perfect. For those that use pills, a standard plastic box that has 7 compartments with a letter representing the day. So, the new pillbox will be much the same with a few extra bells and whistles. First, an electronic locking mechanism that will disallow people to open the next day's pills until....the next day. With the idea of this being electronic...we need a power source. A simple battery will work. But, batteries die. So, there needs to be some sort of auditory cue to notify you when the batteries need to be replaced or recharged. Ok, so there's the locking mechanism. Next, how do we know that it is time to take the pills. Someone with dementia doesn't realize that they should even look at a pill box to take pills. So, there needs to be a visual cue. I'm not stuck on the idea...but an organic LED or some form of visual notification needs to be developed so that it will draw the attention to the pillbox. A flashing light....something.

Ok, so the box is functional at this point. But, unfortunately....the last step needs to be customizable. The pill taking directons. A simple one page laminated direction could probably help.

So, it isn't 100% perfect and I'm sure there are a lot of extra issues. But, please let me know what you think.

I'm thinking someone could make this and sell it for at least $20-$30 per box. Some may think this is WAY TOO EXPENSIVE. But, for a personal service that provides the same function of helping someone take their pills is $9/day (that's $2340/year for 5 days a week or $3,276/year for everyday). Would you spend $30 for a pillbox that gets rid of that type of yearly cost?

That was idea #1...I have another one for kids and altering the baby monitor device to embed it into regular headphones.....but I haven't sat down to really think this one through.