MedPAL

Main screen interfaces that appears when opening the app
Scanning process and showing it into tho app
Home page showing the different medicine

Inspiration

Not understanding medication is a silent killer. Patients don’t usually take their medication properly which causes poor outcomes and billions of medication wasted. This is a problem that everyone has noticed in family members or themselves, we’ve seen family members incapable of properly managing multiple prescriptions and caregivers worried about missed doses. The lack of simplicity in medication literacy and adherence is what we wanted to build a solution for, providing clarity, confidence and relief.

What it does

MedPAL makes prescriptions simple. Patients scan a medication label, and our AI instantly translates jargon into plain language. The app then sets smart reminders, tracks doses, and provides a clear medication library to explain what each drug does and why it matters. Together, these features reduce missed doses, improve understanding, and strengthen the connection between patients, families, and providers.

How we built it

Frontend: React Native with Expo Language: TypeScript for type safety Navigation: Expo Router (file-based) UI Library: React Native Paper (Material Design) State Management: React Context API AI Services: Google Cloud Vision + Gemini AI Camera: Expo Camera with live preview Styling: StyleSheet with custom theme system

Challenges we ran into

Multiple stages of AI, the real challenge was parsing the visual cloud API l part and parsing again from front end to the back end. Getting the pitch correctly to make sure that we have accomplished it within the time frame.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

We’re proud that in the short timeframe provided we were able to build a fully functional prototype, which demonstrates all the key features of our solution, from scanning a prescription to translating it into plain english, to setting smart reminders. We effectively integrated OCR and natural language processing, tackling the task of translating messy prescription labels. We also worked hard to create a simple interface that is senior-friendly, and manages to balance accessibility and aesthetic, making it intuitive for users of all ages. Most importantly we’re proud that MedPAL is more than a hackathon project and is a real project with real world applications that could impact millions of lives.

What we learned

Through building MedPAL, the team learned that answering healthcare challenges isn't just about technology, but also about clarity and simplicity. On the technical side, we gained a greater understanding about how OCR and natural language processing can be incorporated to interpret incoherent prescription labels, and how to translate medical jargon into a simple valid language. From a design perspective, we discovered the value of accessibility, utilizing assets like clear buttons, and plain english can be the difference between an app that works in theory and one that a 50-year-old can actually use.

What's next for MedPAL

The next steps for MedPAL include moving beyond the MVP of scan, translate ,and remind and to evolve into becoming a platform of medication literacy and adherence. The short term goals will involve refining OCR and NLP accuracy, adding premium features such as Care Circle alerts and doctor reports and to run early trials with pharmacies to test adoption. Over the next 1-3 years, our focus will be enterprise integration providing pharmacies and hospitals with white-label platforms, adherence tracking tools for clinicians, and direct API connectivity to existing systems. In the long-term we see MedPAL growing internationally, transforming into a strong and secure data platform pushing public health and pharmaceutical insights, possibly integrating with wearable devices to deliver real time personalised information.