Patent Application
20080077429
The following drawings in which like reference characters indicate like parts are illustrative of embodiments of the invention and are not intended to limit the invention as encompassed by the claims forming part of the application.
The present invention is directed to a portable instructional device designed as a hand-holdable information conveying tool for patients prescribed to receive medications, medical devices and treatments, and the like. The instructional device of the present invention is provided to assist physicians and pharmacists in educating their patients on details of a particular medication, treatment option, and medication condition, for example. The instructional device of the present invention provides visual information and audio communication upon activation by the patient. The visual and audio information may be coordinated to provide comprehensive information regarding medication, treatment, medical devices, and the like, to the patient. The information may be provided in at least one language selected by the patient. The instructional device of the present invention may be used advantageously by patients with limited sight, limited literacy, and limited language fluency to learn and educate themselves in a more effective and meaningful manner. In addition, the small size and compact profile of the device makes it especially convenient for carry and portable operation.
In general, the instructional device is preferably dispensed to the patient for use on-premises in anticipation of receiving medically relevant information such as information concerning a medication, medical treatment, medical device and/or medical consultation. The patient may use the instructional device while waiting at the physician's office or at the pharmacy. The instructional device includes an electronic tag or sensor used in electronic article surveillance systems to ensure that the device remains in an on-premise area. Optionally, the instructional device may further include a paging mechanism responsive to a master transmitter or central controller station for paging a patient on-premises.
The instructional device of the present invention has been designed to enhance the patient's retention of information conveyed interactively via visual and audio means. In the context of medication and treatment compliance, the instructional device of the present invention enhances the ease and regularity of administration and improves the patient's ability to remember important information. In addition, the small size and compact profile of the instructional device facilitate carry and portability. The instructional device of the present invention is inexpensive to construct and implement, and is especially suitable for patients including the elderly and those with limited vision or those having difficulty reading fine print material, or those with limited language proficiency or literacy skills.
The instructional device of the present invention will be described generally in context of on-premise usage for educating and instructing patients about medical products such as medications, medical devices, and the like, and for enhancing patient compliance and facilitating proper usage, dosing, and treatment of such products. As used herein, the term “medical product and/or treatment” shall refer to any product, device, medication, and treatment procedure or regimen useful to treat, diagnose, or prevent a medical disease, symptom, or condition thereof. It will, however, be understood that the instructional device of the present invention can be applied to any article of manufacture or service where the consumer will benefit from the furnishing of medically relevant information as defined herein and details about the article of manufacture or service through a coordinated visual and audio means in an “on-premises” setting.
It has been observed through numerous physician/patient interactions that patients are aware of medically relevant information concerning a product (e.g., a medication or a medical device) or medical treatment procedure or regimen, tend to be twice as compliant as compared to those that lacked access to the same information. To enhance compliance, such medically relevant information must be easy for a layperson to understand, and include at least one or more of the following informational targets: 1) details about the product including manner of action, 2) details about proper practice including mode of administration, dosing or usage intervals, and the like, 3) details about duration of usage including length of the prescribed treatment, 4) details about adverse side effects or contraindications, and 5) details about the consequences of terminating use of the product before completion of the prescribed treatment.
As used herein, the term “medically relevant information” is intended to include any information which the patient would find useful in the treatment, diagnosis or prevention of a medical issue such as a disease, symptom or condition thereof in which the patient's health, future or present, is under consideration. Medically relevant information is information that pertains directly or indirectly to, for example, medications (i.e., prescribed and over-the-counter), medical treatments, medical devices, medical tests, preventive medical treatments, diet, healthcare formulations including vitamins, minerals, nutraceuticals, non-traditional therapies (e.g., acupuncture) and the like, drug information, details about affected body parts or organ systems, administration instructions and dosing, symptoms and conditions to be treated, warnings, counter-indications, ingredients, manner of action, proper practice, duration of usage, adverse side effects or risks, consequences of improper usage including premature termination of usage, and the like.
The present invention is not intended to be a substitute for or replace actual medical consultation with medical personnel including doctors, medical supply specialists, and pharmacists. Instead the present invention is designed to be used as a tool or aid to assist the medical profession and particularly medical personnel in providing sufficient disclosure of the medically relevant information to the patient. After using the device of the present invention, the patient may discuss any questions or issues that the patient may have with the attending medical personnel as needed. In addition, the instructional device of the present invention is further designed to carry out such functions in a discreet private manner, thereby ensuring the patient's medical privacy.
The instructional device of the present invention has been designed to coordinate information expressed through visual and audio means to enhance comprehension and retention of information conveyed about a medical product and/or treatment. As used herein, the term “coordination of visual and audio information” or related term means that the visual and audio means of the present device both provide information related to the medical product and/or treatment. The information may be duplicative, complementary, sequential, or the like, so long as the coordination of both forms of information provides a benefit beyond that obtained from the use of audio or visual information alone. By way of example, the audio means may describe in words the dosage regimen required for a particular medication while the visual means provides the same information in printed form. In the context of medication, medical device and treatment compliance, the instructional device of the present invention further encourages the patient to use the information and enhances the patient's capacity to remember the information.
Generally, there is provided a portable instructional device for relaying medically relevant information to patients on-premises in association with a medical treatment, device or medication. In a general embodiment, the instructional device comprises a display portion comprising a touch sensitive surface having at least one activation area operable by the patient, a memory for storing at least one portion of the medically relevant information wherein each of the at least one portion of the medically relevant information is associated with a particular activation area, an audio assembly connected to the memory for producing sound, the audio assembly adapted for receiving a selected portion of the medically relevant information from the memory corresponding to the activation area triggered by the patient to convert the medically relevant information into audio form, and an electronic article surveillance tag secured to a portion of the device for detecting the removal of the device to an off-premise area.
Optionally, the instructional device of the present invention may include a wireless radio receiver adapted for receiving a paging signal from an external page transmitter, and an alert mechanism connected to the wireless radio receiver for alerting the patient that a paging signal has been received.
Referring to
In one setting, the instructional device 10 is provided to assist elderly patients, patients with limited or no vision, patients with limited literacy skills, and/or patients with limited language fluency. The instructional device 10 is further designed to convey information in a manner to enhance patient compliance in order to prevent adverse effects such as injury or death, and minimize ineffective treatments through improper or incomplete use. For those not fluent in a specific language, the information may be conveyed in a language the user may better understand.
The instructional device 10 is designed to promote effective interaction with the patient in association with the medical product and/or treatment. The instructional device 10 may be constructed of any durable material including plastic, and molded into any size, shape, or color for easy identification and association with a specific product, medication or treatment option.
The instructional device 10 comprises a housing 12 composed of a first panel portion 14, a second panel portion 16 connected through a hinge 18 located along the rear periphery 20 thereof. The first panel portion 14 includes a display placard receiving area 28 enclosed by a removable cover 26. The instructional device 10 further comprises a latch assembly 22 located on the front periphery 24 thereof. The latch assembly 22 maintains the instructional device 10 in the closed position during storage or non-use. The device 10 further includes a speaker 40 (see
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The operation of the instructional device 10 is initiated by the patient through the touching or application of pressure on the activation area 38. Each activation area 38 identified by the printed information 36 corresponds to the desired audio information the patient wishes to hear. The pressing of the activation area 38 generates an input from the patient to the instructional device 10. The number and placement of the activation area 38 on the flexible interactive membrane 32 or 34 will typically depend on the arrangement, context and content of the printed information 36.
The usual visual information provided by the printed information 36 on the interactive membranes 32 and 34 and the information contained in the audio communication are coordinated to provide a comprehensive teaching about the medical product and/or treatment to enable the patient to properly employ the same including medically relevant information. The coordination of the visual and audio means may be accomplished by providing instructions by audio with a graphic visual display.
During operation and use, the patient may read the printed information 36 on the interactive membranes 32 and 34, and initiate playback of the corresponding audio communication through triggering of the corresponding activation area 38. The audio communication relating to the printed information 36 is conveyed to the patient, thus providing coordinated comprehensive information to the patient about the medical product and/or treatment including medically relevant information. The audio communication is outputted through the speaker 40 or the head phones port 30.
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The processor 120 may be programmed with pre-set sound segments into its EPROM using a standard EPROM programmer. Once programmed, the processor 120 can be activated by triggering the corresponding switches SW1 to SW6, respectively. The output of the processor 120 is passed through the remaining portions of the internal central circuit 118 comprising resistors R1-R4, and R11, capacitors C1-C6, and amplifier Q1 to furnish a filter to generate an audio sound from the speaker 40.
Referring to
The display placard is typically printed with information identifying the subject matter stored in the device 10. The printed information may communicate to the patient any information including, but not limited to drug information, administration instructions and dosing, symptoms and conditions to be treated, warnings, active ingredients, and the like. In the alternative, the patient may use the device 10 as a writing surface upon which to write notes or fill out forms, for example.
Referring to
The instructional device 10 includes a number of pressure transducers or sensors (not shown) each corresponding to an activation area 38 of the flexible interactive membrane 32 or 34. The pressure sensors (not shown) in operative association with the activation areas 38, are located between the flexible interactive membranes 32 and 34 and the corresponding support plates 54 and 58.
As previously described, the flexible interactive membranes 32 and 34 are composed of a resilient sheet material that bends in response to mechanical pressure applied thereon. In this manner, when pressure is applied to the activation areas 38, the corresponding portions of the membrane 32 or 34 deforms and causes the corresponding pressure sensor to become activated. The pressure sensors (not shown) are electrically connected to the internal central circuit 118, and are adapted to generate a signal to the internal central circuit 118 when the patient presses the corresponding activation area 38. Such pressure transducers or sensors are known in the art and typically function to generate an electrical output in response to the application of a mechanical force or pressure.
Alternatively, it is noted that the instructional device may be designed having the flexible interactive membrane, pressure sensors and support plate replaced with an touch interactive video display unit such as, for example, a liquid crystal display in combination with a touch screen, a touch panel or a touch screen panel mechanism. The video display unit may be used to display a series of video screens, which the user can use and interact through touch to request audio information. Such touch screens are typically pressure-sensitive (resistive), electrically-sensitive (capacitance), acoustically-sensitive (SAW—surface acoustic wave) or photo-sensitive (infra-red). The effect of such overlays allows the display to be used as an input device.
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The foregoing discussion discloses and describes merely exemplary embodiments of the present invention. One skilled in the art will readily recognize from such discussion, and from the accompanying drawings and claims, that various changes, modifications and variations can be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the following claims.
