DMAS operates like a "cross between a pager and someone's mother," says Andrade. When it's time for medicine, the device beeps and a light flashes. Patients press a "play" button and a voice instructs them to take a particular drug. Patients push a second button when they've taken the medicine. Forget any of these steps and DMAS continues to beep periodically for several hours.
The system's software also adds messages about possible side effects or how to offset them. With specific AIDS drugs, for example, patients hear: "If you experience tingling in your hands or feet, call your doctor" or "Try to drink eight glasses of water a day with this medication."
Then, at the next clinic visit, staff download the compliance information, which appears as a written printout for doctor and patient to discuss. "Most who use this system say they find it extremely helpful," says Andrade; "It adds some structure to their therapy; something that frees them to focus on other things."
In a second Hopkins study, neurology researcher Henraya Davis, Ph.D., programmed the device to occasionally ask patients to press the "play" key at short intervals. The speed of response allows physicians to see if patients' reaction time is slowing as the disease progresses and gives a quick check on HIV's spread into the brain.
The DMAS is an investigational device produced outside of Hopkins. At present, it's available for research purposes only.
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Contact: Marjorie Centofanti
mcentofanti@jhmi.edu
410-955-8725
Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions
14-Mar-2001