Treatment Adherence for TB is the first challenge launched under the Grand Challenges in TB Control program, which seeks to improve tuberculosis screening, detection, and treatment outcomes. Innovative solutions will be pilot tested in India with the intention of being scaled up there and being broadly relevant to developing countries in Africa and Asia. This challenge is part of a collaboration between the Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC) of the Government of India, United States Agency for International Development (USAID), and Bill &amp; Melinda Gates Foundation with India’s <a href="https://www.ikpknowledgepark.com/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">IKP Knowledge Park </a>as the implementation partner.

Treatment Adherence for TB is the first challenge launched under the Grand Challenges in TB Control program, which seeks to improve tuberculosis screening, detection, and treatment outcomes. Innovative solutions will be pilot tested in India with the intention of being scaled up there and being broadly relevant to developing countries in Africa and Asia. This challenge is part of a collaboration between the Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC) of the Government of India, United States Agency for International Development (USAID), and Bill &amp; Melinda Gates Foundation with India’s IKP Knowledge Park as the implementation partner.

Tuberculosis Treatment

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http://www.birac.nic.in/grandchallengesindia/index.php

Treatment Adherence for TB

Lazar Mathew and team are working on a smart pill box that tracks exactly the time through radio frequency identification (RFID) of the dose coupled with SMS trigger systems. The pill box can dispense blister packs rather than tablets, and incorporates a timer which can only be programmed by the medicine provider. Medication cannot be taken out before or after certain times, preventing double dosage. SMS reminders will be sent to family members as well. Monitoring of up to 90 dosages will be possible with a table-top dispenser.

Lazar Mathew and team are working on a smart pill box that tracks exactly the time through radio frequency identification (RFID) of the dose coupled with SMS trigger systems. The pill box can dispense blister packs rather than tablets, and incorporates a timer which can only be programmed by the medicine provider. Medication cannot be taken out before or after certain times, preventing double dosage. SMS reminders will be sent to family members as well. Monitoring of up to 90 dosages will be possible with a table-top dispenser.

Design and Prototype Development of a Low-Cost, Smart Pill Dispenser for Continuous Monitoring of TB

Anuradha Lele and team from CDAC are building an integrated SMS and voice calling solution, which involves mobile-based applications with forms to register patients, a lab form for sputum examinations, IVRS/missed call reminders, and a patient monitoring application for doctors and DOTS workers. The system also plans to include next of kin and friends to enable seamless monitoring of drug intake of the patient.

Anuradha Lele and team from CDAC are building an integrated SMS and voice calling solution, which involves mobile-based applications with forms to register patients, a lab form for sputum examinations, IVRS/missed call reminders, and a patient monitoring application for doctors and DOTS workers. The system also plans to include next of kin and friends to enable seamless monitoring of drug intake of the patient.

Empowering RNTCP Stakeholders with Effective TB Monitoring and Control Using Mobile and ICT

Bill Thies and the team of 99DOTS aim to achieve 99% TB drug adherence using a combination of basic mobile phones and augmented blister packaging to provide real-time medication monitoring at drastically reduced cost. The approach is to utilize a custom envelope, or blister card, into which each pack of medication is inserted and sealed by the care provider. When the patient dispenses medication from the blister pack, the pills also break through perforated flaps on the blister card. On the back side of each flap is a hidden number. Patients submit these numbers using their mobile phone as evidence that they have dispensed medication. To avoid incurring any mobile charges, the numbers are used to complete a phone number and deliver a "Missed call" (Missed calls are free if they are not pointed to a VoiceMail). Using this system patients also receive a series of daily reminders (via SMS and automated calls). Missed doses trigger SMS notifications to care providers, who follow up with personal, phone-based counseling. Real-time adherence reports are also made available on the web.

Bill Thies and the team of 99DOTS aim to achieve 99% TB drug adherence using a combination of basic mobile phones and augmented blister packaging to provide real-time medication monitoring at drastically reduced cost. The approach is to utilize a custom envelope, or blister card, into which each pack of medication is inserted and sealed by the care provider. When the patient dispenses medication from the blister pack, the pills also break through perforated flaps on the blister card. On the back side of each flap is a hidden number. Patients submit these numbers using their mobile phone as evidence that they have dispensed medication. To avoid incurring any mobile charges, the numbers are used to complete a phone number and deliver a "Missed call" (Missed calls are free if they are not pointed to a VoiceMail). Using this system patients also receive a series of daily reminders (via SMS and automated calls). Missed doses trigger SMS notifications to care providers, who follow up with personal, phone-based counseling. Real-time adherence reports are also made available on the web.

99DOTS: Using Mobile Phones to Monitor and Improve Adherence to Tuberculosis Medications

Manjari Deb and team are developing a small, electronic pill dispenser called the CoxBox that enables real-time tracking of patient treatment adherence and inventory. The CoxBox innovation provides a relatively inexpensive and easily implementable solution for action-oriented monitoring and controlling of anti-tubercular drug adherence through the use of a microcontroller-based electromechanical pill box with programmable alarm annunciator and a built-in mobile device.

Manjari Deb and team are developing a small, electronic pill dispenser called the CoxBox that enables real-time tracking of patient treatment adherence and inventory. The CoxBox innovation provides a relatively inexpensive and easily implementable solution for action-oriented monitoring and controlling of anti-tubercular drug adherence through the use of a microcontroller-based electromechanical pill box with programmable alarm annunciator and a built-in mobile device.

CoxBox: An Affordable Medicine Dispenser for Checking Non-Adherence

Krishna Swamy and team are building a comprehensive tuberculosis (TB) mobile application to improve TB detection, treatment, and adherence. The team will build upon its open-source, mobile health (mHealth) platform CommCare and predeployed CommCare mobile applications for TB in India to develop a comprehensive, SMS-enabled mobile application for TB detection, treatment, and adherence. Dimagi will work with the International Union against Tuberculosis and Lung Diseases, South-East Asia (USEA) in the Khunti District, Jharkhand in India to design, test, evaluate, and scale the proposed mDOTS application, which will be designed around the World Health Organization's recommended directly observed treatment, short-course (DOTS) protocol for TB.

Krishna Swamy and team are building a comprehensive tuberculosis (TB) mobile application to improve TB detection, treatment, and adherence. The team will build upon its open-source, mobile health (mHealth) platform CommCare and predeployed CommCare mobile applications for TB in India to develop a comprehensive, SMS-enabled mobile application for TB detection, treatment, and adherence. Dimagi will work with the International Union against Tuberculosis and Lung Diseases, South-East Asia (USEA) in the Khunti District, Jharkhand in India to design, test, evaluate, and scale the proposed mDOTS application, which will be designed around the World Health Organization's recommended directly observed treatment, short-course (DOTS) protocol for TB.