GSM-Based Wireless Database Access For Food And Drug Administration And Control

GSM (Global system for mobile communication) based wireless database access for food and drug administration and control is a system that enables one to send a query to the database using the short messaging system (SMS) for information about a particular food or drug. It works in such a way that a user needs only send an SMS in order to obtain information about a particular drug produced by a pharmaceutical industry. The system then receives the SMS, interprets it and uses its contents to query the database to obtain the required information. The system then sends back the required information to the user if available; otherwise it informs the user of the unavailability of the required information. The application database is accessed by the mobile device through a serial port using AT commands. This system will be of great help to the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Nigeria in food and drug administration and control. It will help give every consumer access to information about any product he/she wants to purchase, and it will also help in curbing counterfeiting. NAFDAC can also use this system to send SMS alerts on banned products to users of mobile phones. Its application can be extended to match the needs of any envisaged user in closely related applications involving wireless access to a remote database.