The present invention relates to a system and method of dispensing pills using a pill dispensing device. The present invention more particularly relates to a home medication system including a pill dispensing device that is configured to alert and dispense medication according to a set medication type and dosage, as well as enable communicate between patients and healthcare providers regarding medication and/or dosage changes and compliance.
Medication is used to treat or prevent illnesses or disease, and proper administration of medication requires appropriate dosage and timing. The dosage and timing may change according to a patient's age, weight, other medication, or health conditions. While medication may be beneficial and necessary for a patient, noncompliance to a medication regimen can cause adverse events. Compliance to a prescribed modification regimen is also important so that a suitable healthcare plan may be devised and adjusted as needed.
The main reasons for noncompliance are related to fatigue, loss of interest, memory issues and cognitive issues. Compliance with a prescribed medication regimen may be further complicated by frequent adjustments in medication types or dosages, causing confusion and either missed or wrong doses.
Devices, such as a typical pill box or container, are used to assist patients in complying with their prescribed medication. Those typical pill boxes include a series of seven containers—one for each day of the week. Pills may be placed into each container and a patient may ingest the pills within the day's container. While typical pill boxes may be beneficial to some patients, typical pill boxes may be too simplistic, do not offer sufficient customization, and do not adequately assist patients with more complicated medication regimes. Additionally, there are also home medication devices that also assist patients in complying with their medication. Those home medication devices are bulky, expensive, and inefficient. There is therefore a need for an affordable home medication dispenser device to assist patients complying with their prescribed medication.
In one aspect, a method is disclosed of using a pill dispensing device or apparatus to alert patients at the appropriate time to take their medication and also dispense the proper medication and dosage. Once a physician prescribes a medication and its dosage, the information is transmitted to the pill dispensing device. The pill dispensing device is programed so that the pill dispensing device and/or paired mobile device alerts its owner at an appropriate time to take the medication.
Another aspect of the invention is a home medication system that will allow the medical team taking care of the patient to track medication compliance and allow for real-time adjustments in dosage. The device will send alerts to the physician's office and the pharmacy when refills and new prescriptions are needed. The device and paired mobile device also allow healthcare providers to download the medication dispensing log for review to assure compliance with taking their medications (e.g., heart medications, blood thinners, cancer medications, diabetes and hypertension medications).
These and other features and advantages of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description and the accompanying drawings. It should be understood, however, that the detailed description and specific examples, while indicating preferred embodiments of the present invention, are given by way of illustration and not of limitation. Many changes and modifications may be made within the scope of the present invention without departing from the spirit thereof, and the invention includes all such modifications.
Preferred exemplary embodiments of the invention are illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which like reference numerals represent like parts throughout, and in which:
Referring now to
The pill dispensing device 10 may further include a handle 55 that projects away from the top body side 45. The handle 55 may be a loop in one embodiment. In other embodiments, the handle 55 may be any shape and size that allows a person may grip the handle 55 to carry the pill dispensing device 10 and/or assists in selectively disengage the first housing portion 23 from the second housing portion 24 to access at least one disc 60, 310 (shown in
The platform 20 of the pill dispensing device 10 is located adjacent to the body 15, and projects away from the bottom body side 50 of the body 15. The platform 20 may be any structure that allows the bottom body side 50 of the body 15 to be spaced apart from a surface (not shown) on which the pill dispensing device 10 has been placed. As seen in
Describing a first embodiment of the components within a pill dispending device 10 and as seen in
As seen in
Pills may be loaded into the disc 60 so that the appropriate number of pills (e.g., number of pills per scheduled dose) is placed with each pill storage section 95. Alternatively, a single pill may be placed within each pill storage section 95. The combination of the blank section 100 and the pill storage sections 95 allow the pills to be dispensed as needed. As will be explained in greater detail hereinafter, medication may be placed within each pill storage section 95, where the blades 90 prevent the pills within each pill storage section 95 from comingling with the pills in another pill storage section 95. Once the disc 60 has been filled with pills, the disc 60 may be loaded into the pill dispensing machine 10 and rotated so that the blank section 100 is adjacent to the cutout 107 of the disc casing 105 and corresponding aperture (not shown) of the body 15. When the pills are to be dispensed, the member section 75A rotates the wheel 85 within the disc casing 105 and housing 22, causing the pill(s) contained within each pill storage section 95 to move along an inner surface of the disc casing 105 until the pill(s) within a pill storage section 95 reaches the cutout 107 of the disc casing 105 and apertures of the body (not shown), whereas the pills may then fall from wheel 85, through the housing 22 of the body 15A, and into the tray 68. The tray 68 may then be removed from the pill dispensing container 10 or slid outwards to access the pills within the wells 70.
Describing a second embodiment of the body 15B of a pill dispensing device 10 and its components, and as illustrated in
In one embodiment, and as seen in
As discussed above, the dispensing portion 355 also includes a wheel 375. The wheel 375 includes a wheel aperture 318 and at least one wheel arm 370 that projects away from the aperture 318. The aperture 318 is shaped and sized so that the rod 315 may be inserted into and/or through the aperture 318. The pill dispensing device 10 may therefore having a series of discs 310 within the pill dispensing device 10, with the rod 315 holding or suspending the discs 310 within.
In one embodiment, the at least one motor (not shown) engages the disc casing 340 and tray 322 to turn clockwise and/or anticlockwise. Alternatively, instead of the motor(s) rotating the pill storage sections 330 and disc casing 340, the rod 315 may be formed from a series of rod or member sections (not shown). Each member section of the rod may be connected to at least one motor (also not shown) which rotates the rod 315 clockwise and/or anticlockwise. Each member section of the rod 315 may further engage at least one disc section 320, 325 so that the at least one disc section 320, 325 also independently rotates when the motor rotates the member sections of the rod 315.
The location of the stop 360 in relation to the arm 355 on the first disc section 320 and the second disc section 325 prevents the first disc section 320 and second disc section 325 from turning either clockwise or anticlockwise. In more detail, because the stop 360 does not move, the arm 355 can only rotate away from the stop 360. Therefore, the first disc section 320 (shown in
Referring back to
As illustrated in
The controller 138 of the pill dispensing device may include control architecture having a processor 120 and memory 125. The controller 138 may have multiple processors 120, such as double processors and accompanying memory. Processors 120 can include any component or group of components that are configured to execute, implement, and/or preform any of the processes or functions described herein or any form of instructions to carry out such processes or cause such processes to be performed. Example of suitable processors include a microprocessor, microcontroller, and other circuitry that can execute software. Further examples of suitable processors include, but are not limited to, a central processing unit (CPU), an array processor, a vector processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), a programmable logic array (PLA), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), programable logic circuit, and a controller. The processor 120 can include a hardware circuit (e.g., an integrated circuit) configured to carry out instructions contained in program code. The memory 125 stores one or more types of instructions and/or data. The memory 125 can include volatile and/or non-volatile memory. Examples of suitable memory 125 include random access memory (RAM), flash memory, read only memory (ROM), programable read-only memory (PROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electronically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), registers, disks, drives, or any other suitable storage medium, or any combination thereof. The memory 125 can be a component of a processor 120, can be operatively connected to a processor 120 for use thereby, or a combination of both. The memory 125 can include various instructions storage thereon. For example, the memory 125 can store one or more modules. Modules can be or include computer-readable instructions that, when executed by a processor 120, cause a processor 120 to perform the various functions disclosed herein. While functions may be described herein, it is noted that the functions are performed by the processor 120 using the instructions stored on or included in the various modules described herein. Some modules may be stored remotely and accessible by a processor 125 using, for instance, various devices and protocols.
In accordance with an aspect of the invention, a home medication system 250 for real-time alerts, dispersion, medication regime modifications, and monitoring can include a pill dispensing device 10, a user device 205, and medical informational system 210. The medical information system 210 has includes databases 230, processors 215, servers 220, hardware 225, software 45 such as Epic and Cerner, user interfaces 235, and other components used in a healthcare system. The home medication system 210 may further include at least one paired user device 205. User devices 205 may include such devices as a smart phone, tablet, laptop, or PC. The user device 205 may communicate with the pill dispensing device 10. Each user device 205 includes a display 153, internal computing and storage capabilities 152, and a program or application 154 that serves as a user interface with the remainder of the system 210.
The pill dispensing device 10 may communicate through a network such as a private Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) 135, and is further connected to a Gateway and/or router 140. The pill dispensing device 10 may also be in communication with a server 145, which may be a cloud-sever. The server 145 can include or be coupled to a microprocessor, microcontroller or other programmable logic element (individually and collectively considered “a controller”) configured to execute a program. Alternatively, interconnected aspects of the controller or circuitry and programs executed by it could be distributed in various permutations within the pill dispensing device 10, user device 150, medical information system 200, and server 145. The program may be used in processing, categorized, storing, recalling and transmitting data received from the pill dispensing device 10, paired user device 150, and/or medical informational system 200. It should be apparent that “circuitry” in the regard can comprise hardware, firmware, software, or any combination thereof.
The pill dispensing device 10 may further communicate wirelessly with a paired mobile device. Information may therefore be transmitted over wi-fi from the pill dispensing device 10, paired mobile device 150, and/or medical information system 200. The paired mobile device 150 may have use applications as a user interface, where a patient, caretaker, or physician can review medical compliance, request the pill dispensing device 10 to dispense the proper medication for a set period of time if the patient has to be away from the pill dispensing device 10 (e.g., vacation). The paired mobile device 150 also receive alerts from the pill dispensing device 10 and notify its owner through flashing lights, vibration, or sound that it is time for the next dose of medication. The mobile device 150 may also send reminders a set time before the next scheduled dose of medication.
As shown in
Once the prescription is fulfilled, the pill dispensing device 10 may be loaded with medication by the patient, caretaker, or pharmacist. In order to load the pill dispensing device 10 with medication, the first housing portion 23 and a second housing portion 24 may be selectively disengaged from each other (or the cap removed in alternative embodiments) to access the at least one disc 60, 310. The patient may receive their medication in a typical bottle from the pharmacist. The patient (or other person) may then fill the numbered pill storage sections 95 according to the instructions, which may be provided on the paired user device 205. In one embodiment, a single pill may be placed within each pill storage section 95 of the at least one disc 60, 310 so that only a single pill may be dispensed at a time when using the device 10. Alternatively, the empty discs 60, 310 may be removed and a pre-loaded at least one disc, purchased from a pharmacy, at home mailing service, or other locations possible to obtain medication, may be placed inside the pill dispensing device 10 replacing the previous discs 60, 310.
Once the pill dispensing device 10 is filled or loaded with the appropriate medication, the device 10 may send out alerts when it is time for the next dose. The pill dispensing device 10 may also send that information to the server 145, where it can then be transmitted to the paired mobile device 205. The paired mobile device 205 can also alert the patient of the next dose. Once the patient presses the dispense actuator 64, the wheel 85 or tray 322 within the pill dispensing device 10 rotates so that only the required mediation is dispensed (for example, if the patient requires 2 mg of a specific drug, the wheel 85 or tray 322 may rotate so that two 1 mg pills, each in a single pill storage section 95, 330 is dispensed) to ensure that the patient receives the correct dosage. Once the dispense button 64 is actuated, the device 10 sends a signal to the paired mobile device 305 to create a log showing what medication was taken and at what time. The patient's medical team may review the log to see if the patient was compliant in taking their medication. The patient's medical team may further receive an alert if the patient's lack of compliance endangers their health so that the medical team may follow up with the patient or caretaker. The device 10 may further send alerts to the physician and/or medical team and the pharmacy when a new prescription is required, and additional medication may be available for pick-up or sent to patient's home. If the medication regime changes, the device 10 may automatically update from the electronic medical records of the patient, allowing for real-time treatment adjustments.
Finally, the device 10 may dispense the appropriate amount of medication for a set period of time (e.g., the patient is traveling), so that the pills may be transferred to another container. For example, the user may transmit information to the device 10 (through the paired mobile device 205 or directly using the screen 62) that the user intends to travel for one week. Once the information is transmitted, the user may actuate the dispense button 64, and a week's worth of medication will be dispensed, whereas the patient may then transfer the mediation to another container.
Although the best mode contemplated by the inventors of carrying out the present invention is disclosed above, practice of the above invention is not limited thereto. It will be manifest that various additions, modifications and rearrangements of the features of the present invention may be made without deviating from the spirit and the scope of the underlying inventive concept.
It should be appreciated that such a development effort might be complex and time consuming, but would nevertheless be a routine undertaking of design, fabrication, and manufacture for those of ordinary skill having the benefit of this disclosure. Nothing in this application is considered critical or essential to the present invention unless explicitly indicated as being “critical” or “essential.”
Number | Date | Country | |
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63214052 | Jun 2021 | US |