Identiv and Eli Lilly Detail Connected Smart Label to Improve Medication Adherence

New white paper outlines an NFC- and sensor-enabled label for autoinjectors—designed for scalable, cost-effective adherence monitoring.

Identiv announces a joint white paper with Eli Lilly and Company that shows how a connected “smart” label applied to an autoinjector can capture real-world usage data and help address the challenge of medication adherence. The paper—Improving Medication Adherence: Scaling Cost-Effective Digital Technologies—is authored by Jelson Mateus (Identiv), Louis Somlai (Eli Lilly and Company), and Deepak Prakash (Identiv).

Medication non-adherence is a persistent and costly problem for healthcare systems. The white paper explains how combining connected devices with data and analytics can strengthen adherence programs through automated monitoring, reminders, and timely interventions.

What’s in the white paper

• Design-for-purpose smart label. A thin label adhered to the autoinjector housing uses NFC for battery-free identification and data exchange and integrates capacitive sensing to determine injector status (pre- or post-dose) by measuring spring-position changes. Temperature sensing supports accuracy as devices move between room and refrigerated conditions.

• Key findings.

  • Capacitive sensing reliably distinguished pre- and post-dose states at room temperature with repeatable signal differences.

  • Refrigeration affects the signal; temperature compensation and appropriate firmware settings stabilize performance.

  • Electrode size and placement are critical; increased electrode height and validated placement improve robustness.

  • Cross-platform reads. Tests with iOS and Android devices showed comparable results, supporting broad smartphone interoperability.

• Scale and manufacturability. Practical materials choices and adhesive selection support reliable adhesion on curved housings and consistent performance—important for commercial-scale deployment.

“By instrumenting the package—rather than redesigning the drug delivery device—we create a cost-effective path to high-quality adherence data, usable across clinical trials and commercial therapy,” said Deepak Prakash, Identiv.

Why it matters

Autoinjectors are widely used across therapies. A retrofit label that is thin, unobtrusive, and smartphone-readable can accelerate deployment—supporting adherence monitoring and data-driven care without changing the patient experience.

Publication details

Title: Improving Medication Adherence: Scaling Cost-Effective Digital Technologies
Authors: Jelson Mateus (Identiv, USA), Louis Somlai (Eli Lilly and Company, USA), Deepak Prakash (Identiv, USA)
Summary: Describes a connected label with NFC, temperature sensing, and capacitive electrodes that detects autoinjector dose status and supports adherence analytics, including laboratory findings, design guidance, and manufacturing considerations.

About Identiv

Identiv secures the physical world with a platform spanning RFID and NFC, cybersecurity, and end-to-end physical access, video, and audio security.

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