Patent ID: 7253716
Filing Date: 2007-08-07
Classification: A61J,A61K,G06K

Abstract:
1. A trackable, authenticatable medical pill, comprising: a pill of substantially conventional configuration, size, construction and chemistry, essentially not larger than about 3 cm in length and about 1 cm in diameter, a radio frequency ID tag on or in the pill, including an antenna and an integrated circuit connected to the antenna, and the integrated circuit including a power supply for storing a portion of energy received by the antenna from a separate reader device that sends out an RF power signal for interrogating a plurality of similar ID tags, a processor circuit receiving power from the power supply and for originating a response to the power signal from a reader device, and a transmitter connected to the processor circuit for transmitting a response signal from the pill to identify or authenticate the pill, the transmitted signal being sent via the antenna, wherein the medical pill comprises a capsule containing the medication, and wherein the antenna is integrated with a wall of the capsule, and wherein the antenna includes a conductive trace on the wall of the capsule, spaced away from and electromagnetically coupled to the RF ID tag, whereby medical pills with the ID tags can be verified for authenticity and/or tracked until medication of the pill is ingested or absorbed by a patient.