The myLiquitab® Homecare System changes solid dose pills and tablets into a flavoured liquid to make medications easier to consume and to mask their bitter taste.
The solid dose medications are added to 50ml of water and 6g of flavoured masking powder in the myLiquitab beaker, which is then placed within the Homecare Unit. After the cycle is complete, an alarm is sounded and the solution is ready to be consumed.
The myLiquitab Homecare System has been specifically developed to uniformly break down medications in liquid to make them easier to consume. The system comprises the Homecare Unit and the Homecare Pack, which contains a measuring scoop for adding myLiquitab flavours, a stirring paddle to help disperse medications within the unit and 30 beakers.
Converting solid-dose medications into liquid
The myLiquitab® Homecare System is designed to assist individuals worldwide that have difficulties swallowing (dysphagia). Affecting around one in three people aged 65 years and older, with 60% being in care homes or at-home residents, dysphagia can make it especially difficult to swallow solid dose medications.
Within the US, 60,000 individuals are reported to die from dysphagia annually, and 40% of US adults have difficulty swallowing solid medications.
By 2050, it is forecasted that the number of individuals worldwide (aged 65 and older) will grow to around 1.47bn up from 528m in 2010. In addition, it is suggested that individuals in this group presently use up to 50% of prescriptions and that this will rise to between 60% and 90% by 2050.
Dispensing solutions to address non-compliance
The myLiquitab Homecare System utilises state-of-the-art technology and is said to be significantly more efficient when compared with the traditional approach of crushing medications.
With crushing, solid dose medications are manually pulverised with a mortar and pestle before being mixed with jam to mask the flavour. Administering medications in this way takes time and can be inefficient, often resulting in a gritty paste that is generally not palatable, increasing the likelihood of noncompliance.
Research at the Medicines Manufacturing Innovation Centre at Monash University deduced that with manual crushing the loss of active ingredients is between 10% and 70%. With myliquitab, there is very little loss, with trial results of 98% delivery of active ingredients.
Crushing tablets requires dexterity and leads to inconsistent results with particle size and crushed medications are not very palatable. In addition, crushed medications may not be fine enough for the recipient to swallow and it is difficult to assess the percentage of medication that has been consumed.
Flavouring with no effect on the pharmacokinetics
The myLiquitab system is specifically developed to mask the taste of bitter medications and has been tested to not alter the pharmacokinetics of medicines.
myLiquitab also removes potential cross-contamination between users with its proprietary recyclable beakers.
In addition, myLiquitab disperses medication into a liquid and removes the necessity to administer gritty, unpleasant-tasting pills and tablets. It can be used by people of all ages and is intended to serve six people that require up to six doses of medications per day.
The myLiquitab Homecare Pack provides enough masking flavouring and beakers for one person, for one month, having three servings a day.
About myLiquitab
Myliquitab is designed to help families, nursing homes, retirement villages, hospitals and rehab centres meet medical administration needs, with each unit serving up to six individuals, six times per day.
Converting pills and tablets into a liquid with myLiquitab has improved the delivery of active ingredients to the user, compared with basic crushing techniques. The technology creates a fine particle size making it safer for those people such as those who are on peg feeds.
The myLiquitab technology will cost-effectively deliver a liquid medication to the user and it standardises the medication dose, converting solid pills and tablets into 50ml of liquid within the home environment.
myLiquitab is in the process of entering agreements with distributors both internationally and has seen great demand for the product globally.
Certain medications such as enteric-coated, sustained-release and slow-release tablets are not appropriate to be used within the myLiquitab Homecare Unit. It is recommended that users obtain medical advice from their doctor or pharmacist to confirm their medications are appropriate.