This invention relates to a switch film, and to a pharmaceutical blister package comprising the switch film.
A pharmaceutical blister package typically comprises a plurality of discrete pockets or cavities integrally formed from a sheet of plastic that are sealed with a sheet of aluminium foil after a pill (i.e., a tablet or capsule containing a pharmaceutical preparation) has been placed in each pocket. This protects the individual pill from exposure to the environment until it is to be consumed, at which time the aluminium foil covering the pocket containing the tablet or capsule to be consumed is broken by the user to allow the pill to be removed from the blister package.
Smart packages [1, 2] have been devised that include an electronic circuit that is connected to a battery at all times and having a resistive sensor to monitor changes to the package, for example, to help users keep track of dosage times and quantities. Such smart packages are thus continuously powered, but lifespan of the battery is limited, therefore lifespan of these smart packages is also limited.
The invention comprises a ‘switch film’ or switch film for use in blister packages for pharmaceutical pills. The switch film is configured to be provided on a standard pharmaceutical blister package without any need to modify the standard packaging process, thereby transforming or augmenting a standard passive/dummy package to embody intelligence—a ‘smart package’.
The switch film comprises a switch that can be either normally-open or normally-closed so that a change of state of the switch triggers the transmission of a signal to a smart device. In the case of a normally-open switch, it will change its state to be temporarily or permanently closed when the switch is sufficiently depressed, which may be beyond a predetermined force or when the substrate of the switch film is ruptured, depending on the desired application. For the normally-open switch, a circuit path within its associated electronics or electronic circuit is normally disconnected. When the switch has been sufficiently depressed to close the circuit, this change from an open switch connection (open-circuit) to a closed switch (short-circuit) connection provides information on the instance/time of access to a packaged item in a blister package on which the switch film is provided, for example, a pill in a pharmaceutical blister package. In the associated electronic circuit, the switch constitutes part of its conducting path. The associated electronic circuit may be passive, for example a passive Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) where the switch completes the circuit for its ensuing functionality, or it may be active, for example an active RFID or wireless transmitting circuit where the switch connects the associated electronic circuit to a battery cell.
One of the embodiments of the invention includes a normally-open switch, an associated electronic circuit, and one or more sensors. Each sensor serves to measure an environmental parameter, e.g. temperature, humidity, etc., and this parameter provides an indication of the quality of the packaged item (e.g. a pill in a pharmaceutical blister package).
The switch film has many applications, not just directed to packaging but also as a smart device, for example, as a smart Internet-of-Everything bandage.
As the switch film is thin and flexible, it may be applied to an existing packaging without modifying the existing packaging process; hence facilitating its applicability and associated low cost of usage.
According to a first aspect, there is provided a switch film comprising: a flexible film substrate; a switch supported by the flexible film substrate, the switch having a state consisting of one of: normally-open and normally closed, the switch configured to change its state upon application of at least a predetermined force; and an electronic circuit supported by the flexible film substrate and connected to the switch and configured to wirelessly transmit a signal upon change of state of the switch.
The switch film may comprise a plurality of switches supported by the flexible film substrate and the electronic circuit is configured to wirelessly transmit a distinct signal upon change of state of each of the plurality of switches.
The electronic circuit may be passive.
The electronic circuit may comprise a radio frequency transponder and the switch may be provided with a unique identification circuit.
The switch film may further comprise a battery provided to power the electronic circuit.
The switch film may comprise a plurality of electronic circuits each connected with a distinct one of the plurality of switches and configured to wirelessly transmit a distinct signal upon change of state of its connected switch.
The switch film may further comprise at least one sensor configured to sense an environmental parameter; and an indicator configured to provide an indication associated with data obtained by the at least one sensor upon change of state of the switch.
The switch film may further comprise a data logger configured to log data obtained from the at least one sensor.
The electronic circuit may be configured to transmit a signal comprising at least an indication of the data obtained by the at least one sensor upon change of state of the switch.
The switch may be a mechanically normally-open switch and the electronic circuit may include a transistor connected in parallel with the switch and a latch circuit configured to turn the transistor on when the switch is closed.
The switch may be a normally open switch comprising a top electrode and a bottom electrode configured to come into contact with each other upon application of the force. A permanent contact may be formed between the top electrode and the bottom electrode upon application of the force.
Application of the at least a predetermined force may rupture the flexible film substrate.
According to a second aspect, there is provided pharmaceutical blister package comprising: a plurality of pockets integrally formed from a plastic sheet; each of the plurality of pockets containing therein a pill, a sheet of aluminium foil sealing each pill in each pocket; and the switch film of the first aspect, wherein the flexible film substrate is disposed over the sheet of aluminium foil outside the plurality of pockets and each of the plurality of switches is disposed at each respective pocket.
Each of the plurality of switches may be configured to change its state upon application of the at least a predetermined force during removal of a pill from its respective pocket.
The signal may include date and time of removal of the respective pill from the blister package.
The data obtained by the at least one sensor may be indicative of a condition of at least one pill in the pharmaceutical blister package.
In order that the invention may be fully understood and readily put into practical effect there shall now be described by way of non-limitative example only exemplary embodiments of the present invention, the description being with reference to the accompanying illustrative drawings.
Exemplary embodiments of the switch film 10 and its various applications will be described below with reference to
In a first exemplary embodiment of the switch film 10, as shown in
An exemplary circuit block diagram and the schematic of the associated electronic circuit of the first embodiment of the switch film 10 is depicted in
Because the switch 12 in the first exemplary embodiment is normally open, the electronic circuit 20 is normally disconnected from the battery 13, unlike prior-art smart packages [1, 2] that have circuits connected to the battery all the time (i.e. continuously). The normally-open (disconnection) connection between the electronic circuit 20 and the battery 13 means that the battery 13 remains normally unused, so that the only power drain from the battery 13 is its natural discharge. This consequently results in significantly improved shelf-life of the switch film 10 for a given battery 13 or significantly reduces the size of the battery 13 for the same shelf-life.
Once the package 90 at one of the pockets 92 has been ruptured to gain access to a pill 99, the switch 12 at that pocket 92 is closed and preferably remains closed, either mechanically or electronically as will be discussed in greater detail below. When this occurs, the electronic circuit 20 is then connected to the battery 13 and commences to transmit a signal for a predetermined time or until the battery 13 is exhausted. On one embodiment, the signal may be transmitted to a smart device 100 such as a smart phone; alternatively the signal may be transmitted to a receiving device such as a wifi transceiver, for example.
In an alternative embodiment to the switch remaining closed, the switch may alternatively be closed only temporarily, as will be described in greater detail below.
The electronic circuit 20 can be very simple. In an exemplary embodiment as shown
In a second exemplary embodiment of the switch film 10, as shown in
The sensor 15 is configured to sense an environmental parameter (e.g., temperature, humidity, etc.), and may be configured to sense the condition of the package 90 periodically (e.g., every 4 hours). Sensed data or data obtained by the sensor 15 is logged into the data logger 16. The data logger 16 is electronically connected to the electronic circuit 20 provided for each pill 99. The indicator 17 is configured to provide a user with an indication associated with data obtained by the sensor 15.
When a pill 99 is removed from its pocket 92 of the package 90, the switch 12 underneath the pill 99, i.e., on the aluminium foil 91 covering the pocket 92, is closed, and the electronic circuit 20 is connected to the battery 13 and energized. The pertinent electronic circuit 20 first reads the data from the data logger 16 and a signal processing circuit 25 of the electronic circuit 20 computes the condition of the pill 99. The condition of the pill 99 is then indicated by the indicator 17, which may for example be a display, or a multi-colored LED that lights up with a predetermined colour according to the condition of the pill 99 as sensed by the sensor 15, etc. The electronic circuit 20 also wirelessly transmits a signal to a smart device 100 to indicate the juncture of pill removal, and possibly the condition of the pill 99. The electronic circuit 20 may thus also be configured to transmit a signal comprising at least an indication of the data obtained by the sensor 15 upon change of state of the switch 12, that is, the signal may be indicative of the data or it may comprise the data itself.
Many variations may be made to the second embodiment. For example, in one variation, a user may wish only to ascertain the quality of the pill 99. In this case, the switch film 10 may be configured so that the user may depress the switch 12 until the switch 12 is closed for a certain time and the electronic circuit 20 will indicate the quality of the pill 99 via the indicator 17, but without rupturing the flexible film substrate 11 or aluminium foil 91 of the package 90 so that the pill 99 remains in the encapsulation and there is no wireless transmission of a signal.
In another variation, the switch film 10 may be configured to provide each pill 99 with two switches 12, one switch to indicate the condition of the pill 99 while another switch is designed to sense rupture of the film substrate 11 when the pill 99 is extracted.
In yet another variation, an individual switch 12 may be provided for each pill 99, and the blister package 90 may have a shared switch 32 to indicate the quality of the pills 99.
In a third exemplary embodiment of the switch film 10, as shown in
The RFID transponder circuit 20 comprises a radio frequency (RF) transmission stage 51, a rectifier stage 52 and a digital modulation stage 53. The RF transmission stage 51 receives the RF power from the smart device 100 and the received power is converted to a direct current (DC) supply voltage by the rectifier stage 52. The DC supply voltage powers up the digital modulation stage 53 and the ID number blocks 18 that are connected by means of the pertinent switch(es) 12. The ID number blocks 18 output the ID number of the respective pill 99 connected to each switch 12. The ID number 18 modulates (turns on and off) a transistor in the digital modulation stage 53, hence modulating the RF transmission stage 51. The modulation of the RF transmission stage 51 results in a change in the electromagnetic field and the smart device 100 (RFID reader) detects the change of the electromagnetic field and recovers the ID number.
In a first exemplary circuit, as illustrated in
In a second exemplary circuit illustrated in
In a fourth exemplary embodiment of the switch film, the switch film of the third exemplary embodiment described above may be configured to further include a sensor, data logger, an indicator and a battery in the package, similar to those of the second embodiment shown in
For all embodiments, the film substrate 11 is a flexible film substrate and may comprise a plastic or polymeric film, such as polycarbonate film. The electronic circuit 20 of the switch film 10 can be realized by conventional silicon processes and connected to the switch 12 by printed conductors within/on the flexible film substrate 11 [3]. The sensor(s) 15 described above in the second and fourth exemplary embodiments of the switch film can be printed using printed electronic circuit on the flexible film substrate 11.
Switch Designs
Several embodiments of the switch design are envisaged. In a first exemplary embodiment of the switch 12 as shown in
A second exemplary embodiment where the switch 12 is normally-open and permanently-on after being depressed can be realized, for example, by coating the top 61, bottom 62 or both electrodes 61, 62 with a conductive adhesive, so that the electrodes 61, 62 will remain and stay shorted upon contact. The permanently-on state may therefore be realized mechanically; alternative the permanently-on state can be realized electronically, as will be described in greater detail below.
In a third exemplary embodiment of the switch 12 as shown in
When the pill 99 is extracted from its package 90 for ingestion, as depicted in
Mechanical Realization of a Permanently Closed Switch After Temporarily Depressing the Switch
The top and bottom electrodes 61, 62 will be in contact once the force applied on the switch 12 of the switch film 10 is higher than a pre-determined value. Preferably, this force is approximately equal to the force needed to rupture the flexible film substrate 11 of the switch film 10. The permanently-on state of the switch 12 can be realized by using a deformable plastic material as a dielectric layer 63. When sufficient force has been applied onto the electrodes 61, 62 of the switch 12, the dielectric material 63 therein will flow outwards such that the top and bottom electrodes 61, 62 will be in contact. Deformation of the plastic dielectric material 63 will be largely retained even after the force has been released, i.e., after the pill has been extracted, thereby keeping the top and bottom electrodes 61, 62 in contact permanently. Alternatively, one or both electrodes 61, 62 can be coated with a conductive adhesive to facilitate retention of the contact, as described above.
Electronic Realization of a Permanently Closed Switch after Temporarily Depressing the Wwitch
In this case, the top and bottom electrodes 61, 62 of a normally-open switch 12 are configured to be in contact only when the force applied. When the force is released, the switch will re-open—a mechanically momentarily-on switch. In this case, an electronic latch 80 as schematically depicted in
By providing the switch film 10 that comprises a flexible film substrate 11 having an electronic switch 12 as described in the various embodiments above, the augmented ‘smartness’ of the switch film 10 is envisaged to provide one or more of the following functions for users of an item on which the switch film 10 is provided:
(i) Transmitting information (such as to a smart phone, or any appropriate receiving device) when the switch is depressed beyond a predetermined force and/or the substrate of the film is ruptured, e.g., when removing a pill from its pocket of a pharmaceutical package, via the electronic circuit in the package. That information may subsequently be transmitted to a cloud network as part of an Internet-of-Everything. An exemplary application is the management of illness by monitoring intervals and dosages of pills contained in the pharmaceutical blister package. Said monitoring could further include (ii) below.
(ii) Monitoring environmental conditions (such as temperature, humidity, etc.) of the package, including during storage and during transportation. An exemplary application is to ascertain the condition/quality of pills in their respective pharmaceutical blister packages.
(iii) Indicating the condition/quality of the packaged item upon request. An exemplary application is a pharmaceutical blister package containing pills that is, upon request, able to provide an indication of the quality of the pills, e.g. their expiry date and the monitoring mentioned in (ii) above.
Whilst there has been described in the foregoing description exemplary embodiments of the present invention, it will be understood by those skilled in the technology concerned that many variations in details of design, construction and/or operation may be made without departing from the present invention. For example, while the embodiments described above disclose a normally-open switch, it is envisaged that the switch may be normally-closed such that depressing the switch changes its state to open and triggers transmission of a signal. While it has been described above that a battery may be provided to power each electronic circuit, the switch film may be configured such that only one battery is provided to power all the electronic circuits. Although the switch film has been described in one embodiment as comprising a sensor together with a data logger, the sensor may alternatively be provided without a data logger in the switch film.
[1] “Smart Package and Monitoring System with Indicator and Method of Making Same”, US Patent No. US20130285681 A1
[2] “Blister package with electronic content monitoring system”, U.S. Pat. No. 7,113,101 B2
[3] J. Chang, X. Zhang, T. Ge and J. Zhou, “Fully Printed Electronics on Flexible Substrates: high gain amplifiers and DAC”, Organic Electronics, vol 15, pp 701-710, March 2014.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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10201402743R | May 2014 | SG | national |
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
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PCT/SG2015/050131 | 5/29/2015 | WO | 00 |