Contraceptive pill aid for women

Device issues warnings about missed pills

An electronic device which reminds women whether or not they have taken their daily contraceptive pill has been designed by a university student.

Lai Chiu Tang, a student at London's Brunel University, hopes her design could help cut unwanted pregnancies.

The 'Remember' device also advises users what to do if they have forgotten to take their pill.

It continually predicts the user's current level of protection and glows red if it is too low.

I hope it will make taking the pill a more trustworthy and effective method of contraception by eliminating the user error Lai Chiu Tang

The pill is more than 99% effective against pregnancies, but research suggests 70% of women forget to take one a month, and 10% forget it at least four times.

The Remember device carries one pill packet, and indicates the exact pill the user has to take each day.

It reminds the user when it is time to take her pill with a choice of four alerts - an alarm, a vibrate mode, a light, or a dual alarm/vibrate mode.

The longer the pill is left untaken, the quicker the light or vibrate mode will pulse and the louder the alarm will sound.

If the pill has not been taken, a series of extra sound or vibration alerts kick in.

If these alerts are still ignored, the device, which remembers the exact day in the cycle the last pill was taken, advises users whether to take the missed pill, to skip it and move on to the next one or start a new pill packet at the end of the cycle without a pill free week.

The machine glows red if the user's contraceptive protection level becomes too low, informing her to use an extra contraceptive method.

User error

Lai Chiu, from Dartford, said: "I had heard and read so much about the massive consequences of simply forgetting to take a pill that I began thinking about ways of reminding women.

"But after further research I discovered that forgetting to take the pill was only part of the problem.

Lai Chiu Tang designed the device

"Lots of women didn't know what to do after missing a pill or, worse still, didn't even realise they may be unprotected.

"I created Remember to solve both of these problems - encouraging people to take the pill correctly and regularly so they're continually protected against pregnancies, but also advising them if they don't.

"I hope it will make taking the pill a more trustworthy and effective method of contraception by eliminating the user error."

Paul Turnock, design director of Brunel's School of Engineering and Design, said remembering to take the pill put a huge responsibility on the user.

"Lai Chiu's design should help women take the pill at just the right time, ensuring it doesn't let them down."

A spokesperson for the Family Planning Association said: "Many unplanned pregnancies are the result of missed and forgotten contraceptive pills.

"So it's important that a woman finds her own routine of taking the pill which suits her lifestyle."