Teen’s Braille Labels Aim to Improve Medication Access for Visually Impaired Canadians
A 15-year-old innovator has developed 3D-printed Braille labels for prescription medication bottles, addressing a significant accessibility gap for Canadians with vision loss.
Brett Devoo, who has been unable to see since age 16, currently relies on daily medication and has found existing solutions, like high-tech glasses, to be unreliable. “I’m kind of always finding that I have found my own way of making things accessible,” Devoo said. “When it came to different kinds of bottles of different pills, I used them like different kinds of tape.” Currently, only 20 per cent of pharmacies in Vancouver offer talking labels through the ‘Script Talk’ system, which requires a separate reader device.
Recognizing the limitations of current technology, Elvin Nguyen created a system that converts text into Braille, which can then be directly applied to medication bottles. “Learning Braille promotes independence,” Nguyen explained. “Do you want to take your phone every time you want to take a medication, or do you just want to drag your fingers across and take the medication?” More than 70 per cent of Canadians with vision loss take prescribed medications weekly, highlighting the widespread need for accessible solutions. The Canadian National Institute for the Blind emphasizes that accessible medication management is crucial for maintaining independence.
The development comes as awareness of existing resources like ‘Script Talk’ remains low, with only two per cent of prescription-taking individuals in Canada currently utilizing the system as of 2020. Nguyen’s invention offers a low-tech, universally accessible alternative. This innovation could significantly improve medication adherence and safety for individuals with visual impairments, a growing concern as the population ages.
Nguyen’s Braille labeling system was showcased at the Science Fair Foundations Youth Innovation Showcase, and officials are hopeful it will inspire wider adoption of accessible medication packaging solutions.
