HCOR is a worldwide reference hospital with more than 100 years of history. And on a daily basis receives many patients, who are victims of intoxication due to misuse of medicine. It was time to take action to change that reality. Introducing Icons for Medicine: an app that uses augmented reality turning key information from package inserts into simple, universal, and quick-reading icons, crossing this information with each user's profile and creating a customized recommendation.

Having key information about the proper use of some medications in the palm of everyone’s hand should be easy and accessible, avoiding accidents that can be fatal. And that's exactly what Icons for Medicine is all about. The patient just needs to fill out some personal information and point their camera’s phone at the box of the medicine. Using augmented reality, the packaging goes through a redesign, which shows the main information about that drug through a universal language that anyone can understand: icons. Each user gets a different set of icons according to their age, weight, gender, previous surgeries, etc. And if the medicine is not recommended for the patient, they will receive an alert message, warning about the dangers of that medication to them. A complete dictionary of icons has been created, making the patient better informed about their medication. Simple, low cost and universal.

In order to understand how to execute such a complex project, we studied hundreds of package inserts. After much research, we came up with a list of crucial information that could avoid intoxication due to misuse of medications, with instructions such as: indications, contra-indications, how to use and time of treatment. Then, we translate each orientation of the package insert into a visual icon that represents it as simply as possible. So, we created an entire dictionary of new icons. The icons that have recommendations for the correct use of the medicine were crossed with the medical data provided by the patient. The result is a simple system to translate complex package inserts into a universal language through augmented reality. Despite the complexity of the cross-data, Icons for Medicine is extremely easy to use. Just point the camera from the phone to the medicine box to get personalized and safe information on how to use it. Finally, people will be able to take their remedies more safely, with access to quick and clear information in the palm of their hand.

HCOR is a worldwide reference hospital with more than 100 years of history. And on a daily basis receives many patients who are victims of intoxication due to misuse of medicine. So, the Hospital decided to take action. The goal of Icons for Medicine is to make it easier and clearer to read the package insert, avoiding accidents. In order to understand how to execute such a complex project, we studied hundreds of package inserts. After much research, we came up with a list of crucial information that could prevent intoxications with instructions such as: indications, contra-indications, how to use and time of treatment. Then, we translated each orientation of the package insert into a universal language that anyone could understand: icons. And we created an entire dictionary of new icons. Then, we transformed it all into a simple and accessible interface people could easily interact with. The patient just needs to fill out some personal information and point their phone’s camera at the medicine box. Using augmented reality, the packaging goes through a re-design, which shows the main information about that drug. The icons with recommendations for the correct use of the medicine were crossed with the medical data provided by the patient. In this way, each user gets a different set of icons according to their age, weight, gender, previous surgeries, etc. And if the medicine is not recommended for the patient, they will receive an alert message, warning about the dangers of that medication to them. The application was released first for HCOR patients and was included in a hospital admission protocol to ensure the correct use of post-discharge medication. Because it uses a universal language, Icons for Medicine has the potential to expand globally, making medicine use safer and simpler than ever before.

Icons for Medicines has given a new perspective to the safety of doctors and patients regarding prescription drugs. An important platform not only for the general public but also for foreigners who are not Portuguese speakers, people who are illiterate and people with reading difficulties. In a simple way, now people can have personalized, accurate, and visually available information about the medications that are taken. In a few weeks, Icons for Medicines will be available in the App Store and Google Play, making the act of taking medicine safe. Besides this, through its universal language, Icons for Medicines has the potential to expand globally, making drug use safer and simpler than ever before.