Dublin-based HealthBeacon raised $1.13 million (1 million Euros) in seed funding to enhance its medication adherence technology. Irish government provided the funds through its Enterprise Ireland program, and so did a few private medical and technology angel investors.

The company has developed a mobile-connected sharps container that people who take injectable medications can use to discard their needles. It sells primarily to payers and pharmaceutical companies who can then offer the device as part of a nursing service to patients.

“The way it works is if you go on one of these long term, highly efficacious medications, in many cases you are going to be given support around those medications,” HealthBeacon cofounder Jim Joyce told MobiHealthNews. “So imagine if you have multiple sclerosis or rheumatoid arthritis or Crohns disease, you’ll be entitled to a patient support program which would include, in many cases, a nurse training you up on how to use the device and generally coaching you on what to expect from the treatment. That would be already in place, and our tools just become part of that program.”

HealthBeacon’s container sits in the user’s home and sends data to an online dashboard where the nursing team can view the patient’s progress. The clinician can see when the patient misses a dose and send him/her a reminder to take their medication.

On the other side, HealthBeacon uses the data gathered from patients to provide its clients with trend information on how populations are adhering to medicine and what types of interactions drive better outcomes.

So far, the company has launched with one client in Ireland; it is also working with HealthXL and the Cleveland Clinic on a study, called Voice of the Stakeholder, to get perceptions from pharmacists, nurses, and clinicians on the product.