Abstract:
The present invention relates to a new apparatus capable of scheduling and supervising the intake of drugs by the patient. Said apparatus comprises a device adapted to be used by the patient as a reminder of the various administrations and the various drugs that the patient him/herself must take. The device according to the present invention is capable of automatically connecting to the Internet network—it only requires power supply—and is adapted to be set via remote connection directly by the patient&#39;s physician.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    The present invention relates to the technical field of apparatus used in the medical field, to assist the patient to carry out prescribed drug therapies. 
       BACKGROUND ART 
       [0002]    A very important problem in the medical field and in particular in the field of administration of drug therapies to be carried out not within a hospital scope but rather at home is related to the risk that the patient may forget to take his/her medication, or might take it in wrong doses, amounts and times. 
         [0003]    This problem is especially felt in the case of elderly patients and of therapies including many drugs to be taken in different ways and times. In this case it is, unfortunately, very likely that the patient may make mistakes forgetting to take some drugs or may take them in the wrong way, with consequent risks to their health, risks which can be very serious. The above problem, of course, becomes even more serious when elderly patients live alone and need to organize their schedule for taking up their drugs by themselves. 
         [0004]    The present invention introduces a new apparatus capable of solving the technical problem described above. Said apparatus comprises a device adapted to be used by the patient as a reminder of the various administrations and the various drugs that the patient him/herself must take. 
         [0005]    The device according to the present invention is capable of automatically connecting to the Internet network—it only requires power supply—and is adapted to be set via remote connection directly by the patient&#39;s physician. 
         [0006]    No type of action is required to the patient, the device according to the present invention does not require any settings by the user but only an initial setting by the installer. All information about the type of drug to be taken, the times and doses administered are entered remotely by the physician through access to a dedicated Internet portal connected to the device. 
         [0007]    In response to said remote programming, the device according to the present invention provides to managing a series of reminders to be provided to the user when it is time to take a drug. 
         [0008]    With the device according to the present invention, therefore, the user is both free from the risk of mistaking the times and mode of taking their drugs and from the difficulty of having to program the device him/herself, which can be difficult and even insurmountable for elderly or disabled users. The only action required by the user of the device according to the present invention is the pressure of a button, easily visible and accessible, to stop the reminder alarms, in the same way, for example, as what is done with a normal bedside alarm. If the above action of shutting down the reminder alarm is not performed within a specified period of time, the device according to the present invention is able to send an alert message through, for example, an SMS message to a reference preset mobile phone number, for example of the physician or a relative or a person able to verify if there are any emergencies and, if necessary, intervene to assist the patient or call for help. In a similar way, any kind of alert available may be used to this end: voice calls, instant messaging (i.e. text messages via the Internet), e-mail, etc. Moreover, advantageously, the device according to the present invention can verify the correct drug intake, that is, for example, the intake of the drug in the right amounts, even through the verification of any side effects that may occur after taking the drug, if the same drug was not taken in the right amounts or if it was taken in the presence of other drugs or still, if it shows poor tolerability by the user patient. To this end, the device according to the present invention may provide for, after a certain time of taking the drug, a series of further reminders to the user, this time relating to questions asked to the user him/herself and concerning the possible occurrence of side effects that may be indicative of incorrect intake or specific user incompatibility with the drug taken. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0009]      FIG. 1  shows a functional block diagram of the apparatus according to the present invention comprising an Internet server  10  and a device  11  provided with a user interface and means adapted to make connections to said Internet server. 
           [0010]      FIG. 2  shows a functional block diagram of a first embodiment of device  11  according to the present invention. 
           [0011]      FIG. 3  shows a functional block diagram of a second embodiment of device  11  according to the present invention. 
       
    
    
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0012]    The present invention relates to a new apparatus capable of scheduling and supervising the intake of drugs by the patient. Said apparatus comprises a device adapted to be used by the patient as a reminder of the various administrations and the various drugs that the patient him/herself must take. The device according to the present invention is capable of automatically connecting to the Internet network—it only requires power supply—and is adapted to be set via remote connection directly by the patient&#39;s physician. 
       DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0013]    With reference to the accompanying  FIGS. 1 and 2 , the apparatus according to the present invention comprises the following components: an Internet server  10  and a device  11  provided with a user interface  16  and with means adapted to make connections to said Internet server  10 . 
         [0014]    In more detail, said device  11  comprises a control module  12  based on at least one microprocessor; an output interface module  13 , associated with said user interface  16  and with said control module  12  and adapted to translate the settings made by a first local user (the patient) through said user interface  16  into controls for said control module  12 ; an input interface module  14 , associated with said user interface  16  and with said control module  12  and adapted to translate the settings of a second remote user (the physician) made on said Internet server  10  into data and information for said user interface  16 ; a communication module  15 , associated with said control module  12  and adapted to connect said device  11  to the Internet and communicate with said Internet server  10 . Said communication module is adapted to establish a connection with said Internet server  10  in either wired or wireless mode according to the known communication protocols, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, ZigBee, RFID/NFC, etc. or through the mobile phone network. Advantageously, said communication module  15  comprises a module for the connection with mobile phone networks of the TACS, GSM, GPRS, EDGE, UMTS, HSPA, etc. type comprising a SIM card with prepaid traffic, so as to allow the connection of said device  11  to the Internet even in cases in which the patient brings said device with him/her when he/she goes outside their own domestic environment. 
         [0015]    Said input  13  and output  14  interface modules may optionally be integrated in said microprocessor. 
         [0016]    Said user interface  16  preferably comprises a light alarm, a sound alarm and a display—adapted to provide said first local user with a reminder concerning the intake of a drug or the administration of a drug therapy—and a button or similar means, to stop the operation of such alarms. Additional buttons may be present, relative to additional features that will be explained hereafter. 
         [0017]    Said control module  12  is adapted to send an alarm, through said communication module  15 , if said first local user (the patient) does not act on said button or similar means to interrupt the operation of said alarms within a predetermined time. 
         [0018]    Said alarm can be sent via, for example, an SMS message to a reference present mobile phone number, such as the physician or a relative or a person able to verify if there are any emergencies or dangerous situations and, in case, to intervene to assist the patient or call for help. In a similar way, any kind of alert available may be used to this end: voice calls, instant messaging (i.e. text messages via the Internet), e-mail, etc. 
         [0019]    Preferably, said device  11  is small in shape and size so as to be easily placed wherever it is needed so as to be easily accessible and usable. 
         [0020]    Said device  11  is further provided with suitable supply means comprising at least one non-rechargeable battery or a power supply optionally associated to at least one rechargeable battery. 
         [0021]    Advantageously, moreover, said device  11  may comprise a further communication interface  24  adapted to control external actuators capable of operating external devices such as alarms, blinking lights, buzzers, or operating household systems such as the lighting system or the sound system, etc. 
         [0022]    In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, said Internet server  10  is further associated with a web portal accessible online through suitable authentication and identification means, such as a user ID and a password, and adapted to provide said second remote user (the physician) with the possibility of connecting to said device  11  so as to set it with the settings related to said first local user: types of drugs to take, and intake amount, frequency and times. 
         [0023]    In response to this setting, said device stores the settings given and schedules the alarms relating to said settings. In this way, when the time of intake of the drug by said first local user comes, said device  11  provides to actuate a reminder alarm to remind said first local user (the patient) to take the drug in question. The reminder alarm can be of the sound type (for example the activation of a ringer or a repeated recorded voice message) or visual type (for example the activation of a continuous or intermittent warning light) or a combination thereof. At the same time, the display of said device  11  will show the description of the drug to be taken with the relative amount and mode of intake. 
         [0024]    At this point, the patient can follow the instructions of said device, take the drug according to the instructions shown on the display of said device and actuate said button, or similar means, to stop the operation of said sound and/or visual alarms. If this does not happen and said sound and/or visual alarms are not interrupted within a certain preset time interval, said device  11 , through the action of said control module  12  and said communication module  15 , can send an SMS message or forward a call to a preset phone number, for example, the telephone number of said first remote user, the patient&#39;s physician, or other person close to the patient him/herself and able to contact or go to the patient and possibly organize emergency first aid operations. 
         [0025]    In addition to this basic feature, said device  11  is further adapted to count the drugs and treatments taken by the patient and store the data that are made available, via said Internet server  10 , for future statistical processing. In addition, said device  11  can be further adapted to send to the pharmacy—automatically or upon actuation, by said first local user (the patient), of a dedicated button of said user interface  16 —a purchase order of a drug identified as lacking or in shortage based on said count of the drugs and treatments taken by the patient. Submitting the order to the supplier can be done in different ways: online, through a web page or an e-mail message, or by sending an SMS message, or still by sending the order to a printer connected to said Internet server  10  or other possible methods defined on the basis of the needs of the pharmacy. 
         [0026]    Moreover, advantageously, device  11  according to the present invention can verify the correct drug intake, that is, for example, the intake of the drug in the right amounts, even through the verification of the presence of any side effects that may occur after taking the drug, if the same drug was not taken in the right amounts. To this end, the device according to the present invention may provide for, after a certain time of taking the drug, a series of further alarms for the user, this time relating to questions asked to the user him/herself and concerning the possible occurrence of side effects that may also be indicative of incorrect intake or specific user incompatibility with the drug taken. Said questions can be asked to the user via a prerecorded audio message, for example emitted after a certain time interval from the drug intake and preferably preceded by a sound and/or light alarm identifiable by the user, or through a message displayed on the display of said device  11  and suitably announced by a sound and/or light alarm identifiable by the user. Said questions, moreover, will preferably be multiple and formulated in such a way to investigate, each, the occurrence of a single undesired side effect so as to allow closed and user selectable answers by the interaction with said at least one button, or similar means, of the user interface of device  11  according to the present invention. 
         [0027]    In this case, the data related to the answers provided by the user can be conveniently stored and made available via said Internet server  10  for future statistical processing. These data can of course be of particular relevance in the analysis of the incidence of the side effects associated with taking certain drugs, alone or in combination with other drugs. 
         [0028]    Device  11  according to the present invention is uniquely identified so as to be associated with a single specific local user. 
         [0029]    Said Internet server  10  may be associated with a plurality of said devices  11  so that a single remote user, the treating physician, can interact, through said web portal associated with said Internet server  10 , with a plurality of devices  11 , each uniquely associated with a single, specific local user (the patient). 
         [0030]    In a second preferred embodiment of the present invention, said Internet server  10  is associated with a second device  18  adapted to connect, through said Internet server  10 , to at least one device  11  so as to interact therewith and allow said remote user to set said at least one device  11  with the settings related to said first local user (the patient): types of drugs to take, and intake amount, frequency and times, and to receive response data from said device  11  about the correct use thereof or to any problems related to failed intake of drugs by the patient. 
         [0031]    Said second device  18  in turn comprises a control module  19  based on at least one microprocessor; a user interface  20 ; a communication module  21  adapted to communicate with said Internet server  10  so as to connect said device  18  to the Internet; an output interface module  22 , associated with said user interface  20  and with said control module  19  and adapted to translate the settings of a second remote user (the physician) made on said user interface  20  into data and information to be sent, through said communication module  21 , to said at least one device  11 ; an input interface module  23 , associated with said user interface  20  and with said control module  19  and adapted to translate the data received from said at least one device  11  into information displayable on said user interface  20 .