Hardware Podcasts

The Journey from Idea to Success with Mike Morena of AdhereTech

Predictable Designs Podcast · 6 Jan 2020 · 37m · Episode 1

What this episode covers

Mike Morena, co-founder of AdhereTech, explains how his team built a smart pill bottle to improve medication adherence for patients on specialty drugs. The device uses cellular connectivity (LTE-M) and sensors to track doses, sending data to a backend platform that triggers interventions like text reminders. Morena details the transition from a rough 3D-printed prototype to a mass-manufactured product, highlighting the challenges of antenna design when migrating from 3G to LTE. The company’s business model relies on recurring revenue from pharmaceutical companies for the service, rather than one-time hardware sales, which facilitated fundraising and scaling.

Most relevant to

early-stage companies

Topics

Mentioned

Companies
AdhereTech, Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, Express Scripts, AT&T
Products
smart pill bottle
Also
LTE-M, 3G, 510 K

Related episodes from other shows

Other shows on the same ground, closest first.

  • The Next Byte Podcast · 14m

    240. Swallow Confirmed: Smart Pills That “Ping” From Your Stomach

    Hosts from The Next Byte Podcast discuss a smart pill developed by MIT that proves medication adherence by transmitting a signal from the stomach. The device uses a biodegradable zinc antenna and a cellulose Faraday cage to activate only after ingestion, minimizing the non-biodegradable residue to a tiny RF chip. The hosts highlight how this technology addresses the critical issue of missed doses in treatments for organ transplants and infectious diseases, while noting the requirement for an external wearable reader.

    Connected products & IoTMaterials & manufacturing processes
    6 chapters

  • The Hardware Entrepreneur · 39m

    #028 - Meet the creators of FitBit for medication, with Peter Havas of PillDrill, USA

    Peter Havas, co-founder and CEO of PillDrill, discusses his journey from a successful food-tech startup to creating a medication management system inspired by the Fitbit. He explains how PillDrill’s design principles of simplicity, flexibility, and dignity address the psychological stigma of medication, while leveraging a direct-to-consumer strategy to gather critical user feedback. Havas also details his reliance on the Brinc accelerator for manufacturing connections in Shenzhen and his philosophy on managing startup risks and investor relationships.

    Starting a product companyIndustrial & consumer product design
    9 chapters

  • IoT For All Podcast · 29m

    Using IoT to Distribute COVID-19 Vaccines | Luma Health's Aditya Bansod

    Aditya Bansod, Co-Founder and CTO of Luma Health, explains how his company uses IoT and digital platforms to streamline patient engagement and vaccine distribution. He details the evolution of Luma from a smart waitlist tool to a comprehensive platform managing eligibility, scheduling, and remote monitoring for chronic diseases like diabetes. Bansod highlights the critical challenges of healthcare data access, HIPAA compliance, and the need for multi-modal communication to serve diverse patient demographics, including the elderly.

    Connected products & IoTValidation & product-market fit
    7 chapters

  • Being an Engineer · 51m

    S2E13 Relentless Empathy & Going Deep On Understanding The Problem | Ryan Eder

    Ryan Eder, Founder and CEO of Include Health, explains how his senior thesis project, the Access Strength Machine, evolved into a hardware-agnostic digital health platform. He details his process of 'relentless empathy,' which involved renting a wheelchair and visiting gyms to understand the barriers faced by disabled users, leading to a gold-winning design. Eder describes the transition from a proprietary physical machine to an IoT sensor system that digitizes existing fitness equipment, addressing both physical and administrative barriers in healthcare. The episode highlights the challenges of integrating software into clinical workflows and the strategic decision to make the technology compatible with third-party hardware to scale impact.

    Industrial & consumer product designPrototyping & iteration
    8 chapters

  • Over the Air · 38m

    Intrapreneurship, Internal Incubation, Spinoffs, and IoT Product Development

    Bob Marshall, Founder and CEO of Whisker Labs, and Joe McNulty, SVP of Product and Partnerships, discuss the origin of their product Ting, an IoT device that detects electrical fire hazards. Marshall explains how the company spun out of Earth Networks after a personal tragedy motivated the team to apply their lightning detection technology to home safety. They detail the engineering challenges of isolating micro-arcing signals from household noise and the strategic decision to simplify the product from a complex panel-mounted sensor to a simple plug-in device for consumer adoption.

    Starting a product companyConnected products & IoT
    8 chapters

The summary, chapters and topics are generated from the episode’s audio by this directory, not written by Predictable Designs Podcast. The episode itself belongs to its publisher.