According to Marisa da Costa Gaspar, the project, called ‘MAP02 – Medication Adherence Platform’, “intends to improve adherence to therapy, increase the quality of life of patients, support family members, caregivers and healthcare professionals, reduce costs associated with poor medication adherence, and develop a technologically innovative solution prepared for future certification as a medical device”.

The researcher responsible for the project at the Centre for Innovation in Technologies and Healthcare (ciTechCare), a research unit of the Polytechnic Institute of Leiria (IPL), explained that ‘MAP02’ “consists of an integrated system composed of three main components: an intelligent medication dispenser, a mobile application, and a platform for monitoring therapeutic adherence”.

“The dispenser will communicate with the mobile application, allowing the recording of events related to medication intake,” and “the platform will allow monitoring of adherence and sharing of information with healthcare professionals, family members, and caregivers,” she specified.

The lecturer at the IPL School of Health also mentioned that “the system is also prepared to integrate advanced functionalities, such as sensorization, microweighing, and pattern analysis using artificial intelligence techniques.”

Marisa da Costa Gaspar, PhD in pharmaceutical sciences, highlighted that the added value “lies in the integration of different technological components into a single system, allowing not only support for medication intake but also monitoring of adherence in real time.”

“The system aims to contribute to greater patient autonomy, facilitate clinical monitoring, and allow for earlier interventions in situations of therapeutic non-compliance, and “is distinguished by its combination of hardware and software, remote monitoring, alert systems, and intelligent data analysis,” he added.

This project is led by the company BHT, from Leiria, and developed in partnership with the company Moldata, from Vieira de Leiria (Marinha Grande). It also integrates another IPL research unit, the Centre for Rapid and Sustainable Product Development, and the University of Coimbra.

Started in May 2025, the project, with a cost of approximately €1.8 million and funded by Compete 2030 with €1.3 million, is expected to end in April 2028.

“The idea for the project arose from the need to respond to the challenges associated with inadequate adherence to therapy, particularly in aging populations and in people with cognitive or psychomotor limitations,” he clarified. Researcher Marisa da Costa Gaspar observed that “non-adherence to medication continues to represent a significant health problem, being associated with the worsening of diseases, increased morbidity and mortality, reduced quality of life, and higher costs for health systems.”

“The ‘MAP02’ is primarily aimed at people with difficulties in managing their medication, namely the elderly, people with psychomotor or cognitive limitations, and patients with complex therapies,” but it also intends to “support family members, informal caregivers, and healthcare professionals by providing information” for monitoring and tracking therapeutic adherence.

The project is now in the final phase of defining and validating requirements, including conducting focus groups with doctors, nurses, and pharmacists.

The next steps include optimising the ‘MAP02’ system based on the identified needs and tests performed, at the hardware and software level, preparing the system for certification as a medical device, and defining strategies for coordinating all components, with subsequent implementation.