Pill pet. Elderly woman holds the Pill Pet, an electronic game based on the children's toy 'Tamagotchi'. The Pill Pet was developed by researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's (MIT) Agelab. The device displays a virtual pet that users must care for by pressing buttons to report they have taken their medicine. If they forget, the pets become sick and will eventually die. In trials, the Agelab researchers found that elderly users form an emotional bond with the virtual pet and were more likely to remember to take their medicines.