[visionrehabtherapist] Talking Labels for Medications and Other Things
- From: Terrie Terlau <tterlau@xxxxxxx>
- To: "'jadkins@xxxxxxxxx'" <jadkins@xxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Thu, 7 Oct 2010 14:36:46 -0400
Julie Adkins asked me a question and I wanted to share the answer with the
list. Talking labeling devices change quickly, new ones come and old ones go.
Julie asked if the Tel RX and Talking Labels from Maxi-Aids required an
expensive recorder for the pharmacist to use. They don't; they are digital
recording chips and the person reading the label info pushes a recording button
with the end of a pen or stylus to record. However, ScripTalk, another talking
prescription labeling system, does require an expensive recording unit.
I am sharing some material on auditory labeling resources from the draft of a
book we are working on. This information is current.
Auditory Labeling systems for Medications:
* The ScripTalk, available from En-Vision America, Inc., consists of a
special label printer for your pharmacist and a special label reader for you.
Your pharmacist puts both the regular print label and the special label on your
prescription bottle. At home, when you place your medicine bottle next to your
label reader, an artificial voice tells you the name of the drug, the name of
the person taking the drug, the prescription number, the dosage, the directions
for taking the drug, warnings, and the prescribing doctor's name and phone
number.
* Talking RX, available from Independent Living Aids, Inc., LS&S Products,
National Federation of the Blind Independence Market, and Talking RX, Inc., is
a recorder-player that fits on the bottom of your medication bottle. You or
your pharmacist can record up to 60 seconds of information such as the drug
name and dosage, and you can play the information by pressing a button on the
Talking RX. Talking Rx fits most widely-used medication bottles. Another
version, Talking RX 406/60 gram size, works with 40 and 60 gram vials.
* Tel RX Talking Prescription Recorder (for medication bottles) and Talking
Labels (for medication boxes), sold by Maxi-aids, are small 20-second voice
recorders that can be attached to medications. A pharmacist or helper pushes a
record button, reads aloud the medication name and instructions, and attaches
the recorder to the medication container. The user presses a play button on the
recorder to hear the medication name and instructions. Ties and bands are
provided to attach the TelRX to medication bottles; and a clip on Talking
Labels attaches them to medication boxes.
Auditory Labeling systems for medications and Other Materials:
* I.D. Mate Summit produced by En-Vision America, Inc., can be carried in
your hand. When you hold an item with a bar code near its bar code scanner, it
will speak aloud the name and other information about the item from its
database of almost one million existing bar codes. You can also record your own
information for items whose bar codes are not in the database and for items
without bar codes. The I.D. Mate comes with three types of bar code labels for
items that do not have pre-existing bar codes. Use the adhesive-backed paper
labels for permanent attachment to books, CDs, or other items you plan to keep.
Use a band to attach plastic labels to bottles, cans, food boxes, and other
consumable items, and reuse the label when you replace the item. Use iron-on
labels to record color, laundry instructions, and other clothing information.
The I.D. Mate Summit costs significantly more than the other three auditory
labeling devices discussed below. However, it can speak information from most
manufacturers' pre-made bar code labels, and the less expensive devices cannot.
* Sherlock Personal Talking Label Identifier, distributed by the American
Printing House for the Blind, consists of a hand-held unit and sets of paper
labels and plastic tags. To record your label or tag, hold the Sherlock against
the label or tag, press a button, and say the information that you want the
label to contain. Whenever you place the Sherlock against that particular label
or tag, it will again speak the information you recorded in your own voice. You
can re-record labels and tags as often as you want. When peeled off their
backing, labels can be pressed onto a book, CD, or anything else that you want
to label permanently. MagneTachers, sold separately, are vinyl magnet strips to
which Sherlock paper labels can be attached. Attached to the MagneTacher, a
Sherlock label can be placed on steel cans, removed when the can is opened, and
reattached to a new can when the can is replaced. Labels hold up well in the
freezer; and tags can go through the washer and dryer.
* PenFriend, manufactured by the Royal National Institute for the Blind
(RNIB) in the United Kingdom and distributed in the United States by
Independent Living Aids and other vendors, uses a variety of labeling media. To
record a label, touch the PenFriend to the label and speak the label
information aloud. The PenFriend records labels that you speak and plays them
back in your own voice when the tip of the PenFriend is again touched to the
label. Labels can be erased and reused.
* TouchMemo, sold by Maxi-Aids and other specialty vendors, is similar in
many ways to the PenFriend. Using tags and labels that can be pinned or sewn to
clothing or fastened to other items by adhesive backing or rubber bands, this
device records a label that you speak when you hold it close to one of its
labels or tags and replays the information whenever it is placed on the
specific label or tag.
I hope this info is helpful.
Terrie Terlau
Terrie (Mary T). Terlau, PhD
Adult Life Project Leader
American Printing House for the Blind
502.899.2381
tterlau@xxxxxxx
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