There is provided a device for monitoring the use of a blister package, strippackage, vialor bottle contents at a distance. A processor is connected to a compact randomorquasi-random n-microphone array and is programmed to detect the sound of thecontent beingexpelled from a blister cavity, strip package, or a cap being removed from avial or bottle.A content use data memory associated with the processor stores informationrelating tothe expulsion or removal events. The processor is equipped with statisticalmeans fordifferentiating the sound of the content being expelled, from the backgroundnoise,generating an electrical signal that is analyzed for relevance to content useevents by theprocessor, and storing the resulting use data in memory. The processor mayhave anadaptive beam focussing algorithm to determine the direction of the source ofthe sound.
