Single Pill Dispenser for Individuals With Tremors

This simple insert can go in the top of a prescription bottle to help an individual with tremors retrieve a single pill at a time. By placing the insert inside the opening and under the cap, we are still able to use the children's safety cap. That was one of the motivating factors in our design.

The prescription bottle we used when making this Instructible was a Walmart pharmacy brand, but we have also used this with other pharmacy bottles, and it works the same.

The insert is essentially a washer, where the outside diameter (OD) of the washer needs to match the inside diameter (ID) of the pill bottle, and the ID of the hole in the washer needs to match the OD of the pill.

This can be 3D printed or laser cut. The clear insert showing in our picture was laser cut from clear acrylic plastic. Usually a couple tries is required to get the tolerances just right.

Inserting a piece of closed cell foam into the lid can stop pills from accidentally dispensing into the cap if the bottle was tipped over. Depending on the pharmacy's cap style and the pill size, this may or may not be an issue.

We included a small bevel around the hole in our STL files. This was to help the pills find the hole easier. However, we have no bevel on the laser cut insert and it works just fine, so the bevel is not necessary.