Remember Tamagotchis, the irritating 'virtual pets' that were the bane of many a parent's life for a – mercifully short – time? Failure to answer its regular and insistent demands for food and attention resulted in the creature going into rapid decline and expiring in a matter of hours.
Well, researchers at Massachusetts Institute of Technology's (MIT) Ageing Lab in Boston have applied this principle to encourage compliance among elderly patients. The theory is that the 'Pill Pet' will issue a reminder when a dose of medication is due and, like their owners, will thrive only if they receive confirmation that it has been taken.
Wouldn't a digital watch perform the same function, I hear you ask.
Apparently not. The idea, according to MIT, is that the elderly patients should form an emotional bond with the cuddly toys, which are made of brightly coloured silicon. Appealing to people's minds on an emotional rather than on an intellectual level, the researchers believe, will make the 'pet owner' more likely to heed the reminder than if it were issued by an impersonal device such as an alarm clock.
Indeed, in trials elderly women who took Pill Pets home did not want to give them back. Dr Joe Coughlan, director of MIT's Ageing Lab, explained that the team was looking at achieving a 'balance between the technology and the software that's between the ears'.
It sounds to me more like a shortcut to insanity.