Camera-phone recognition trend: Now identifying loose pills

The rise of recognition technology is getting quite advanced, from apps like Shazam that identify music to face-recognition apps that are now being used in stores and hotels to identify incoming customers. Now similar technology is helping people who take a lot of pills and get confused about which is which. It's can be tough, especially if the medicine has been separated from its container. This is a problem for many patients, but also a for medical professionals who need to know, is the orange pill is for her heart? MedSnap ID is a new app that uses the iPhone camera to identify an entire set of pills in a Snap. Each pill or capsule is listed by name and strength and screened for drug-drug and drug-disease interactions with direct access to professional drug monographs. Best of all, no cellular or WiFi connection is required to use the app, which will work in clinical or field environments where Internet or cell access can be unreliable.