This invention relates to systems for organized dispensing of medicines/supplements (items) and particularly to a computer controlled dispenser that delivers various items according to schedule.
Many people are in need of taking a number of different kinds of medicine/supplements every day. This activity is very difficult for many individuals to carry out due primarily to forgetfullness and the complexity of the schedule for taking the medicines/supplements. The problem is exaccerbated by the fact that certain medicines/supplements should not be taken close to one another and the time between taking of some medicines/supplements is very critical.
Systems have been disclosed for resolving the problem.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,818,473 to Murray et al discloses a pill container having a lower pill-holding portion and an upper cover portion. A battery operated timer and spring-driven escapement having a buzzer opens the container and simultaneously stops the buzzer. The buzzer sounds after a preselected period reminding the user to open the box, take a pill and reset the timer.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,725,999 to Tate discloses a medicine timer including a series of compartments in a row for holding containers of medicines, e.g., pills. Each compartment is associated with a timer by means of a detachable plug. Each timer is settable by means of a rotary pointer and hour marks. Signal is by sound alert and light.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,048,087 to Laurent discloses a “multi-compartment pill box. Prescriptions and schedule are entered by having a physcian program an EEPROM. on a plastic “credit card sized card. This arrangement has the disadvantage compared to the present invention that the user does not “see” a daily history of the days events and changing the conduct of the program is under a physicians control who has the device for writing/rewriting the EEPROM.
It is an object of this invention to aid people who must take multiple medications/supplements to manage their drugs safely and easily by storing the medications/supplements and alerting the user when it is time to take a particular pill or combination of pills. It is contemplated to enable a user to tell at a glance which items he needs to take soon, which he should take immediately, and which items have been skipped. inadverrtently.
The invention is directed toward a system that has four components:
1.) containers, one container for each item;
2.) sets of indicator lights, each set associated with a respective container;
3.) a speaker or other device for generating audio signals;
4.) a small computer with a keypad and a screen to display text and pictures. The system features:
means for physically moving each item to be taken into a separate container at a prescribed time accompanied by signals from the lights or speaker;
a display on the screen of a up-to-the-minte daily history of the days events and the ability to store the history and retrieve it for study at a later date;
an inventory accounting system wherein the amount of stock remaining in inventory is tabulated and displayed on the screen as a constant reminder to the user to reorder at an appropriate time.
Turning now to a discussion of the drawings,
In one embodiment, each set of indicator lights consists of three lights, e.g., a red light 22, a yellow light 24 and a green light 26. The yellow light 24 is activated a period of time (e.g., 30 mins.) before the designated time for taking the respective medicine. The red light 22 turns on and remains on until the dosage is taken. The green light 26 comes on and remains on for a period of time after the dosage has been taken,
The speaker generates a sound signal when any red light comes on and remains on for longer than a preset period. indicating that a respective item should be taken.
Indicator lights associated with each container indicate:
1.) The time to take the dosage is approaching;
2.) The time to take the dosage has arrived;
3.) Which dosages have been delivered into the dispensing container.
4.) Whetther or not the user has opened the dispensing container.
The user then need only open one container (tray 36).
In the first step, in order to implement the program, the user first turns on the computer thereby activating the screen to show a form.
In the second step, the user “fills out” the form by typing in the required information. He has thereby created a “screen schedule”. The first column is a list of numbers where each number represents a container. In the second column, the user lists the medicine/supplement (aspirin, vitamin C, thiamin, etc) to be stacked in the corresponding container. In the third column, the user lists the number of dosages in each stack of dosages. In the following columns, (fourth, fifth, etc.) he lists the time that he is scheduled to take the indicated dosage. This schedule on the form is then stored in memory and the only change in this schedule is the number of dosages that remain in storage. The user activates the program by typing in the date. Thereafter, the date changes automatically every 24 hours. As the day progresses, every time the user takes a dosage at the scheduled time, the time on the screen is automatically marked such as by underline or bold print. At the end of the day, the contents of the screen are stored in a “history” memory for later retrieval (printout) when an overall history is required. A new “fresh” form appears on the screen to chart the next days proceedings which has retained all of the information entered at the prior date but which does not contain the earlier underlining that relates to the previous history.
The “screen” schedule which is viewed on the screen and created by the user by filling in the form, is part of a larger “program” schedule that is stored in memory. The “program” schedule is formatted as a list of “N” events. At any time, the system is said to be operating during the “Nth” event. Each event includes:
In the third step, the program schedule is initiated by typing in the date, the clock is initialized and N is set equal to 1 (N=1). This starts the program in the processor running and the processor then takes over the operation of the program.
In the fourth step, which takes place at the beginning of each event, there is presented on the screen the list of instructions pertaining to the Nth event. These instructions typically pertain to how the item is administered (e.g., with food, after meals, etc.) whether there are potentially dangerous interactions with food or other drugs.
In the fifth step, the prompter flip flop periodically prompts comparator to compare the “system” time on the system clock to the “schedule” time on the schedule listed for the respective event and when the comparator shows that the system time is later than the schedule time minus the first “sub period” time, then the processor:
In the sixth step, the number of dosages of the respective medicine listed in inventory is decremented by one thereby maintaining a count of dosages remaining in inventory. in inventory.
In the seventh step, the program compares N to the total number of steps M, that comprise the program. If N<M then the event counter is incremented by 1 and the program returns to returns to step 4. If N=M go to the eighth step.
In the eighth step, the form filled with the underlined times, etc. is stored in the history memory, the date is incremented by one day and a “fresh form” with all of the unerlining removed is presented on the screen i preparation for the following days events.
In the ninth step, which occurs after a designated number of days passes the computer outputs (prints) the contents of the “history” section of memory which is a record of all the medicine/supplements that has been taken. The computer also outputs contents of the inventory memory thereby reminding the user when his stock must be replenished.
There has been described a system and method for organizing a program and prompting a patient to carry out a program prescribed by his doctor. The invention is a valuable aid in assisting a patient to carry out a program of medicine taking that, in some instances, would be too detailed without the assistance of the program. In the context of this specification, the terms “medicine/supplement, dosage, items” are all interconnected.
The invention is an improvement over the cited art in a number of respects including the ability to maintain a record, reducing the tedium that often characterizes such programs, providing a firm basis on which the doctor can evaluate the treatment program, and enabling a user to easily install and manage his own program.
In contrast to the cited art, the computer that is integrated into the storage container is a “personal medicine manager”. Its basic function is to track when each dosage is to be taken and to control the indicator lights and speaker to signal to the patient that it is time to take the drug. The arrangement of the apparatus affords very simple and convenient implementation by simply typing numbers on on a with a keyboard that can be viewed on a screen. The same screen automatically tracks and presents the history of the program. The computer program enables the patient and doctor to enter a very detailed program that can be conveniently evaluated.
Variations and modifications of this invention may be contemplated after reading the specification and studying the drawings that are within the scope of the invention.
For example,
The physician enters the program containing the event schedule into the memory of the server computer. The central processor unit 126, responding to the program and event schedule stored therein, sends signals to the selected container to release an item according to the event schedule stored in the server computer. The alert signal is sent to the cell phone 112 according to the event schedule and operates to prompt the patient to take the item released by the container mechanism.
In view of these and other embodiments within the scope of the invention, I therefore wish to define the scope of my invention by the appended claims.
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