Implementation of a Mobile Application for Checking Medicines and Pills for the Visually Impaired in Korea

Abstract

According to the Pharmaceutical Affairs Act of South Korea, medicines should be used correctly and safely by stating the product name, expiration date, and dosage on the container or packaging. However, such matters are rarely marked in braille, and the labeling is insufficient, making it difficult for visually impaired people to accurately know and take medication information. In this paper, we implement a mobile application that provides integrated services, so blind people can conveniently inquire about medicines based on voice guides. Medicines’ search is possible through various methods such as container recognition, pill recognition, speech recognition, prescription recognition, and drug envelope recognition. A CNN-based pill recognition model was also developed. Using our implementation, blind people can quickly obtain information about medicine through simple UI and minimal input. As a result, our application will improve access to medicine information for the visually impaired while also reducing misuse by the visually impaired. © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2023.