"Sakura, don't forget your medicine and thermometer."
"I know. There's no way I'd forget."
To celebrate my graduation from college, I'm going on a four-day, three-night trip to Taiwan with some friends, and I'm busy packing my things for tomorrow's departure, but the Rock app on my smartphone (see Chapter 6) is still nagging me.
"The time difference between Taiwan and Japan is one hour."
"But I'll take my medicine and take my temperature according to Taiwanese time during the trip, so it's okay."
"7am in Japan is 6am in Taiwan, but Sakura doesn't have to get up early."
"If I take the new medicine in the morning, I don't have to take it at night."
Today, he is more talkative than usual.
"I know it's impossible, but can't you just keep quiet for a bit, Rock?"
"I've got a lot of instructions from the doctor, so I can't keep quiet."
When I was in high school, I participated in a clinical trial, and Rock, the clinical trial support robot, came to my house as a companion (or a monitor). It was taken away when the trial ended, but it was later returned to me as a smartphone app. At first, it was just a simple app that told me my temperature and when to take my medicine, but with repeated updates, it has now become a great app that links with my doctor's prescription data and medical records, and exchanges data with me, delivering lifestyle advice tailored to my condition every day.
When I take my temperature, the data from the thermometer goes to my smartphone, and from there to my medical records at the hospital. Conversely, when instructions from the doctor or nurse come from the hospital, they are played back via Rock's app. Well, since it's Rock who's teaching me, I still spend a fair amount of time chatting and sharing pointless information, but now it's one of the indispensable tools for me.
The drug I participated in the clinical trial for was released a while after I entered university, and at first I had to take it twice a day, morning and night, but this year it was changed to a sustained-release formulation, so I only need to take it in the morning. Thanks to this, Rock only tells me to take my medicine in the morning, which feels refreshing, and since it's something I do every day, it's good that the number of times has decreased.
"Sakura, once you're done getting ready, you have to go to bed early because you have to get up early tomorrow."
"Huh? Are you my mother?"