Aspects of the present disclosure are directed to systems and methods for managing the expiration of products and the supply chain thereof.
This background and summary are provided to introduce a selection of concepts in a simplified form that are further described below in the DETAILED DESCRIPTION. This background and summary are not intended to identify key features of the claimed subject matter, nor are they intended to be used as an aid in determining the scope of the claimed subject matter.
Medical products, for example, surgical devices, drugs, medical devices, medical supplies, etc. (hereinafter also individually and collectively interchangeably referred to herein as “medical products”), may be provided to customers (hereinafter also interchangeably referred to herein as “consumers”), for example, hospitals, doctors' offices, pharmacies, etc., to be consumed by and/or used with respect to medical procedures on patients. Based on many outside factors, examples of which are discussed below, these medical products may not be used at the customer location during their efficacy period; for example, the medical products may remain in storage, on the shelves, or elsewhere at the customer location without being prescribed to patients. Once these medical products reach their expiration dates (hereinafter also interchangeably referred to herein as “expired products”), they may be discarded, destroyed, sent back to the manufacturer to be refurbished, or, in an example worst case scenario, used by patients. The use of expired products may put patients at risk, and may indirectly cost customers significant amounts of money if, for example, a patient has an adverse reaction to the use of an expired product. The discarded or destroyed expired products may cause loss of revenue to consumers because the expired product should not have been used. Further, the expired products that are subject to refurbishment may also cause loss of revenue to consumers, as the process of refurbishment may be expensive. Clinical and supply chain executives are challenged with managing supplies to support patient safety, drive efficient workflows, reduce loss of revenue, ensure customer locations are properly equipped, and minimize waste. Each year roughly 8.5% of medical products turn into expired products, which results in millions of dollars in lost revenue, among other losses and problems.
To automate a supply chain of products, radio frequency identification (RFID) tags are frequently used to identify and track medical products. For example, RFID tags may be attached to some medical products for purposes of tracking. RFID tags may uniquely identify their host product using a pre-programmed tag identifier (TID), which may be a unique serial number assigned by the chip manufacturer. The RFID tags may include a memory bank to store items' unique tracking identifiers, such as electronic product codes (EPCs). In some aspects, additional information may be stored directly in the memory bank or a secondary memory bank of an RFID tag. The additional information may include, for example, a product code, lot number, and expiration date of a product associated with the RFID tag.
Common types of RFID tags include low frequency (LF), high frequency (HF) and ultra-high frequency (UHF) RFID tags. LF RFID tags generally operate at a frequency of about 30 KHz to 300 KHz, and may only be scanned by a reader within extremely close proximity to the LF RFID tag, e.g., approximately less than 10 cm. HF RFID tags generally operate at a frequency of about 3 to 30 MHz, and may only be scanned by a reader within relative close, but not necessarily extremely close, proximity to the HF RFID tag, e.g., approximately between 10 cm and 1 m. UHF RFID tags generally operate at a frequency of about 300 MHz to 3 GHz, and may be scanned from a greater distance than LF and HF RFID tags, e.g., a distance of up to approximately 12 m. Inventory tracking systems may be based on LF RFID tags, HF RFID tags, UHF RFID tags, barcodes, etc., for example.
Aspects of the present disclosure relate to systems and methods for managing the expiration dates of inventory affixed with RFID tags and/or barcodes, among other types of product identification elements. Such systems and methods may include one or more devices, such as one or more computers or other terminal devices and/or computer systems for managing inventory through the supply chain, and/or managing the expiration dates of the inventory in order to ensure the medical products are, inter alia, consumed and/or adjusted via relocation prior to the expiration date. The system may include features for applying machine learning algorithms to provide end to end real time enterprise visibility that, among other advantages, may help clinical and supply chain executives to reduce product expiration and waste, thereby reducing overall lost profits of the company.
Additional advantages and novel features of these aspects will be set forth in part in the description that follows, and in part will become more apparent to those skilled in the art upon examination of the following or upon learning by practice of the disclosure.
The novel features believed to be characteristic of implementations of the disclosure are set forth in the appended claims. In the descriptions that follow, like parts are marked throughout the specification and drawings with the same numerals, respectively. The drawing figures are not necessarily drawn to scale and certain figures may be shown in exaggerated or generalized form in the interest of clarity and conciseness. The disclosure itself, however, as well as a preferred mode of use, further features and advances thereof, will be best understood by reference to the following detailed description of illustrative implementations of the disclosure when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:
The following includes definitions of selected terms employed herein. The definitions include various examples and/or forms of components that fall within the scope of a term and that may be used for implementation. The examples are not intended to be limiting.
A “processor,” as used herein, processes signals and performs general computing and arithmetic functions. Signals processed by the processor may include digital signals, data signals, computer instructions, processor instructions, messages, a bit, a bit stream, or other computing that may be received, transmitted and/or detected.
A “bus,” as used herein, refers to an interconnected architecture that is operably connected to transfer data between computer components within one or more systems. The bus may be a memory bus, a memory controller, a peripheral bus, an external bus, a crossbar switch, and/or a local bus, among others. The bus may also be a bus that interconnects components inside a system using protocols, such as Controller Area network (CAN), Local Interconnect Network (LIN), among others.
A “memory,” as used herein may include volatile memory and/or non-volatile memory. Non-volatile memory may include, for example, ROM (read only memory), PROM (programmable read only memory), EPROM (erasable PROM) and EEPROM (electrically erasable PROM). Volatile memory may include, for example, RAM (random access memory), synchronous RAM (SRAM), dynamic RAM (DRAM), synchronous DRAM (SDRAM), double data rate SDRAM (DDR SDRAM), and/or direct RAM bus RAM (DRRAM).
An “operable connection,” as used herein may include a connection by which entities are “operably connected,” is one in which signals, physical communications, and/or logical communications may be sent and/or received. An operable connection may include a physical interface, a data interface and/or an electrical interface.
A “wired or wireless connectivity,” as used herein may include, but not be limited to one or more universal serial bus (USB) connections, wireless fidelity (“Wi-Fi”) coupling, Bluetooth or Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) coupling, Ethernet connection, cable connection, digital subscriber line (DSL) connection, cellular coupling (e.g., 3G, LTE/4G or 5G), or other suitable coupling or couplings.
Generally described, aspects of the present disclosure provide systems and methods for managing the expiration of product and the supply chain thereof. For instance, an example system in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure may provide for seamless visibility of products flowing from supply chain to usage/consumption. This visibility may be achieved using a RFID tag that may provide analytics and insights into the supply chain and lifecycle of products having attached thereto or being associated with RFID tags, among other features. Additionally, the example system may track a variety of products from various origins and points of entry into the system having a variety of RFID tag types affixed to or associated with the products. That is, the system may track products having any one of a combination of LF, HF, and/or UHF RFID tags. Furthermore, the example system may facilitate seamless inventory tracking and reporting. Types of products that may be managed through the supply chain and lifecycle via the use of RFID tags, among other types of product identification elements, may include, for example, medical equipment, medical devices, pharmaceuticals, consumable goods, and the like.
RFID tags, also interchangeably referred to herein as “tags,” generally take the form of integrated circuits, with associated antennae, that have computer readable memories that may be encoded with identification information, such as a unique serial number (USN), which may also be referred to interchangeably herein as a unique identification number, unique digital identifier, universal identifier, or “UID.” The identification information may include information about the tag itself, such as the manufacturer of the tag, date of manufacture, lot number, tag configuration, expiration date, if the product the tag is affixed to may be refurbished, how many times the product the tag is affixed to is refurbished, etc. Typically, when an RFID tag is interrogated, the tag responds by emitting a data signal that includes the tag's UID, which is captured by the reader. This technique and other examples of similar techniques for managing inventory through the supply chain and lifecycle of a product are described, for example, in further detail in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/543,246, filed on Aug. 16, 2019, to Leitermann et al., which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety.
Referring now to
In some implementations, the product expiration management system 140 may track one or more products tagged with an RFID tag through the supply chain, for example, from manufacture to expiration of the product. For example, the supply chain may include various activities, phases and/or features in the product lifecycle, including for example, manufacturing, packaging, transportation, distribution, inventory, usage/consumption, refurbishment/reprocessing, expiration and/or disposal, as described in more detail below. Some or all of these activities, phases, and/or features of the supply chain may be associated with a location or feature equipped with one or more different types of RFID reader devices. Some examples of RFID readers include handheld scanners for users to scan locations, fixed scanners located within a device to scan specific locations, and fixed scanners within large locations to scan large locations, as described in more detail below. In order to afford compatibility with a number of different types of RFID reader devices, a number of different types of RFID tags, and/or a number of different operating environments, the products may be tracked using multiple different RFID protocols, thereby enabling seamless item-level identification and management/tracking of the products throughout the supply chain, for example. The different RFID protocols may generally use one or more frequency bands, which may be referred to generally as LF, HF, and UHF.
In some implementations, the RFID tag may be provided to the product's manufacturer by a purveyor of the product expiration management system 140. For example, the RFID tag may be applied by the manufacturer to a product using an applicator device that may uniquely register or position the RFID tag onto a specific location on a package during affixation. In another aspect of the disclosure, the RFID tag may be provided by the purveyor of the product expiration management system 140, and the tag may be affixed to the product at any point in the product's life cycle, for example, at the distributor, consumer site, etc. This process of affixing and registering the RFID tag may be conducted via one or more of the systems shown in
As described above, in some implementations, the RFID tag that is provided by the purveyor of the product expiration management system 140 may be applied to the product itself or the packaging of the product during any point in the product's lifecycle. In one aspect of the disclosure, the RFID tag may be applied at any point during the manufacture process, the distribution process, and/or the consumption process. Upon affixing the RFID tag to the product or packaging of the product, the RFID tag may be read by an RFID reader, as described below, which obtains a UID, and the UID may be registered in a respective database, along with other characteristic information, for example, the expiration date of the product. In one aspect, if a RFID tag is registered during the manufacturing process, the RFID tag's UID may be registered at the manufacturer system 110. As described above, each system 110, 120, 130 may include its own database, and each system may be implemented with different RFID readers operating on different frequencies, for example. For example, the manufacturer may manufacture a stent bearing serial number 0001 and having an expiration date of May 1, 2020. The manufacturer may register the UID of the RFID tag in the manufacturer system 110 along with information indicating the serial number and the expiration date of the stent.
Further, the distributor may obtain the stent from the manufacturer and may be able to use a RFID reader to read the same UID from the RFID tag affixed to the stent's packaging. Further, the distributor system 120 may correlate the UID read from the RFID tag with additional characteristic information provided by the RFID reader, and store this additional characteristic information in the database along with the UID. For example, the distributor system may store “UID 0005” along with information indicating that the product associated with the tag bearing UID 0005 was received at 06:07 PM on Jan. 1, 2019, and shipped to a consumer at 07:05 PM on Mar. 2, 2020.
As described in the example above, although the distributor system 120 may not have access to the manufacturer system 110 containing the database with the UID and the additional characteristic information, the distributor system may register the example UID 0005 in the distributor system 120 containing its own database. As described below, each discrete database stored on a respective system may or may not be shared among systems 110, 120, 130 and 140, and/or may only be shared from 110, 120, and/or 130 with system 140.
In one aspect of the disclosure, for example, the manufacturer system 110 that registered and stored UID 0005 as a stent with a specific expiration date of May 1, 2020, may communicate with distributor system 120. Upon receipt of the product by the distributor from the manufacturer, the RFID tag comprising the same UID 0005 is read through the use of a RFID reader. The distributor system 120 may query manufacturer system 110 and determine that UID 0005 is registered as a stent with an expiration date of May 1, 2020. The distributor system may, for example, register UID 0005 in the distributor system 120 database as a stent that was received and had its tag read at 06:07 PM on Jan. 1, 2019. In another example, distributor system may, for example, update UID 0005 in the manufacturer system 110 database as being received by the distributor and having had its tag read at the distributor at 06:07 PM on Jan. 1, 2019.
In another aspect of the disclosure, each system 110, 120 and 130 may communicate with each other and/or with product expiration management system 140. For example, the manufacturer system 110 may register and store UID 0005 as a stent with an expiration date of May 1, 2020, in its own database, but also communicate that information to the product expiration management system 140. Upon receipt of the physical product by the distributor from the manufacturer, the RFID tag comprising the same UID 0005 may be read, as described above, and the distributor system 120 may query the product expiration management system 140 and determine that UID 0005 is registered as a stent with an expiration date of May 1, 2020. The distributor system may, for example, register UID 0005 in the distributor system 120 database as a stent that was received and read at 06:07 PM on Jan. 1, 2019. In another example, the distributor system 120 may, for example, update UID 0005 in the product expiration management system 140 database as being received at the distributor at 06:07 PM on Jan. 1, 2019. Thus, each system 110, 120 and 130 may, for example, locally store its own data in a database without interaction with any other databases contained within the systems of
In another aspect of the disclosure, the product expiration management system 140 may implement machine learning algorithms and/or apply other methods of analysis on the data/information shared among one or more of the systems 110, 120 and 130, as described above, and stored on or accessed by the product expiration management system 140, described in more detail below.
Referring now to
In one aspect of the disclosure, the storage cabinet 200 may be configured to be implemented by the consumer system 130, referenced in
In another aspect of the disclosure, the storage cabinet 200 may be mobile, such that it may be relocated, rather than being permanently affixed to a single location after installation. Further, the storage cabinet 200 may be placed, for example, within close proximity to a second storage cabinet 200. For example, the storage cabinet 200 may abut, be located next to, back-to-back with, or in close proximity to a second storage cabinet, for example, in the same room. In one aspect of the disclosure, the storage cabinet 200 may include a housing 210 having a plurality of slots or other shelf retaining features 220 that are configured to support and/or provide communications with a respective shelf 230 supported by or in proximity thereof. In this manner, the number of shelves and spacing between each pair of successive shelves implemented in the storage cabinet 200 may be customizable, for example, based on user needs and/or a product size stored thereon. For example, the shelf 230 may have additional shelves placed immediately above and/or below the area containing slots 220. This technique and other examples of similar techniques for storing and/or reading RFID tags are described in further detail in U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 64/726,635, filed on Nov. 21, 2018, to Leitermann et al., which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety.
In another aspect of the disclosure, the products affixed with the RFID tag may be stored, for example, in a storage room, an RFID-enabled storage shelf, cabinet, or cold-storage space, etc., until needed. Additionally, while the products are stored by a consumer, the RFID tag may be scanned by the consumer system 130, as referenced in
Referring to method 300 of
At step 320, the data received by reading the RFID tag affixed to the product may be stored in a database. For example, as described in more detail above, the data may be obtained by any of the systems with relation to
At block 330, the system may continuously review and/or analyze the data as it is being stored, and may also review and/or analyze previously stored data in the database. In one example in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure, the process of review and or analysis may be performed using machine learning algorithms. A variety of machine learning algorithms may be implemented with regard to the stored data, but the system may only report the results of a single algorithm (e.g., the most accurate algorithm), for example. In an aspect, the product expiration management system 140 may continuously review the data provided to the system for storing, along with data previously stored in the system, for example, to determine if a product is likely to expire prior to being used/consumed, using the machine learning algorithms. For example, the product expiration management system 140, referenced in
In another example with regard to block 330 of
In another example with regard to block 330 of
In another example with regard to block 330 of
In another example with regard to block 330 of
At block 340 of
At block 350 of
In another aspect of the disclosure, through the use of machine learning algorithms with access to data from a network of consumer locations, the system may make a determination to relocate the product to another location within the same consumer location or to another consumer location. For example, the product expiration management system 140 of
Aspects of the present disclosure may be implemented using hardware, software, or a combination thereof and may be implemented in one or more computer systems or other processing systems. In an aspect of the present disclosure, features are directed toward one or more computer systems capable of carrying out the functionality described herein. An example of such a computer system 400 is shown in
Computer system 400 includes one or more processors, such as processor 404. The processor 404 is connected to a communication infrastructure 406 (e.g., a communications bus, cross-over bar, or network). Various software implementations are described in terms of this example computer system. After reading this description, it will become apparent to a person skilled in the relevant art(s) how to implement implementations of the disclosure using other computer systems and/or architectures.
Computer system 400 may include a display interface 402 that forwards graphics, text, and other data from the communication infrastructure 406 (or from a frame buffer not shown) for display on a display unit 480. Computer system 400 also includes a main memory 408, preferably random access memory (RAM), and may also include a secondary memory 410. The secondary memory 410 may include, for example, a hard disk drive 412, and/or a removable storage drive 414, representing a floppy disk drive, a magnetic tape drive, an optical disk drive, a universal serial bus (USB) flash drive, etc. The removable storage drive 414 reads from and/or writes to a removable storage unit 418 in a well-known manner. Removable storage unit 418 represents a floppy disk, magnetic tape, optical disk, USB flash drive etc., which is read by and written to removable storage drive 414. As will be appreciated, the removable storage unit 418 includes a computer usable storage medium having stored therein computer software and/or data.
Alternative implementations of the present disclosure may include secondary memory 410 and may include other similar devices for allowing computer programs or other instructions to be loaded into computer system 400. Such devices may include, for example, a removable storage unit 422 and an interface 420. Examples of such may include a program cartridge and cartridge interface (such as that found in video game devices), a removable memory chip (such as an erasable programmable read only memory (EPROM), or programmable read only memory (PROM)) and associated socket, and other removable storage units 422 and interfaces 420, which allow software and data to be transferred from the removable storage unit 422 to computer system 400.
Computer system 400 may also include a communications interface 424. Communications interface 424 allows software and data to be transferred between computer system 400 and external devices. Examples of communications interface 424 may include a modem, a network interface (such as an Ethernet card), a communications port, a Personal Computer Memory Card International Association (PCMCIA) slot and card, etc. Software and data transferred via communications interface 424 are in the form of signals 428, which may be electronic, electromagnetic, optical or other signals capable of being received by communications interface 424. These signals 428 are provided to communications interface 424 via a communications path (e.g., channel) 426. This path 426 carries signals 428 and may be implemented using wire or cable, fiber optics, a telephone line, a cellular link, a radio frequency (RF) link and/or other communications channels. In this document, the terms “computer program medium” and “computer usable medium” are used to refer generally to media such as a removable storage unit 418, a hard disk installed in hard disk drive 412, and signals 428. These computer program products provide software to the computer system 400. Implementations of the present disclosure are directed to such computer program products.
Computer programs (also referred to as computer control logic) are stored in main memory 408 and/or secondary memory 410. Computer programs may also be received via communications interface 424. Such computer programs, when executed, enable the computer system 400 to perform the features in accordance with implementations of the present disclosure, as discussed herein. In particular, the computer programs, when executed, enable the processor 404 to perform the features in accordance with implementations of the present disclosure. Accordingly, such computer programs represent controllers of the computer system 400.
In an aspect of the present disclosure where the disclosure is implemented using software, the software may be stored in a computer program product and loaded into computer system 400 using removable storage drive 414, hard drive 412, or communications interface 420. The control logic (software), when executed by the processor 404, causes the processor 404 to perform the functions described herein. In another aspect of the present disclosure, the system is implemented primarily in hardware using, for example, hardware components, such as application specific integrated circuits (ASICs). Implementation of the hardware state machine so as to perform the functions described herein will be apparent to persons skilled in the relevant art(s).
The aspects discussed herein may also be described and implemented in the context of computer-readable storage medium storing computer-executable instructions. Computer-readable storage media includes computer storage media and communication media, and may be, flash memory drives, digital versatile discs (DVDs), compact discs (CDs), floppy disks, and tape cassettes. Computer-readable storage media can include volatile and nonvolatile, removable and non-removable media implemented in any method or technology for storage of information such as computer readable instructions, data structures, modules or other data.
While the aspects described herein have been described in conjunction with the example aspects outlined above, various alternatives, modifications, variations, improvements, and/or substantial equivalents, whether known or that are or may be presently unforeseen, may become apparent to those having at least ordinary skill in the art. Accordingly, the example aspects, as set forth above, are intended to be illustrative, not limiting. Various changes may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosure. Therefore, the disclosure is intended to embrace all known or later-developed alternatives, modifications, variations, improvements, and/or substantial equivalents.
Thus, the claims are not intended to be limited to the aspects shown herein, but are to be accorded the full scope consistent with the language of the claims, wherein reference to an element in the singular is not intended to mean “one and only one” unless specifically so stated, but rather “one or more.” All structural and functional equivalents to the elements of the various aspects described throughout this disclosure that are known or later come to be known to those of ordinary skill in the art are expressly incorporated herein by reference and are intended to be encompassed by the claims. Moreover, nothing disclosed herein is intended to be dedicated to the public regardless of whether such disclosure is explicitly recited in the claims. No claim element is to be construed as a means plus function unless the element is expressly recited using the phrase “means for.”
It is understood that the specific order or hierarchy of the processes/flowcharts disclosed is an illustration of example approaches. Based upon design preferences, it is understood that the specific order or hierarchy in the processes/flowcharts may be rearranged. Further, some features/steps may be combined or omitted. The accompanying method claims present elements of the various features/steps in a sample order, and are not meant to be limited to the specific order or hierarchy presented.
Further, the word “example” is used herein to mean “serving as an example, instance, or illustration.” Any aspect described herein as “example” is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other aspects. Unless specifically stated otherwise, the term “some” refers to one or more. Combinations such as “at least one of A, B, or C,” “at least one of A, B, and C,” and “A, B, C, or any combination thereof” include any combination of A, B, and/or C, and may include multiples of A, multiples of B, or multiples of C. Specifically, combinations such as “at least one of A, B, or C,” “at least one of A, B, and C,” and “A, B, C, or any combination thereof” may be A only, B only, C only, A and B, A and C, B and C, or A and B and C, where any such combinations may contain one or more member or members of A, B, or C. Nothing disclosed herein is intended to be dedicated to the public regardless of whether such disclosure is explicitly recited in the claims.
This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 17/125,276, filed Dec. 17, 2020, which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/951,758, filed Dec. 20, 2019, the disclosures of both of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.
Number | Date | Country | |
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62951758 | Dec 2019 | US |
Number | Date | Country | |
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Parent | 17125276 | Dec 2020 | US |
Child | 18949692 | US |