An Augmented Reality-Based Mobile Application for Drug Prescribing Information System: ARPECTUS
Nigar Kucuk, Sezin Barın, Gür Emre Güraksın · 2021
In many countries, drugs are available without any supervision, leading to misdiagnosis and mistreatment, and health and economic problems. Package inserts allow people to use drugs correctly and effectively. However, research shows that most users do not read the package inserts, and most of those who read them have difficulty understanding them because they contain too many medical terms. Another disadvantage for drug users is that reading drug leaflets is time-consuming and tedious. By the lack of a study on augmented reality-based package inserts in this area is the main motivation for study. A mobile application, ARPECTUS, was proposed to make up for the deficiency and to eliminate the disadvantages of the current package insert systems; also, the proposed ARPECTUS was evaluated from different perspectives. The proposed mobile application uses one of the state-of-the-art technologies, augmented reality, to make package insert more intelligible and user-friendly. The application reads the QR code on the drug package and involves a virtual assistant that provides the user with the important information in the package insert as well as the expiration date not specified in it.