Abstract:
A system for and method of locally and remotely controlling and monitoring medication dispensing process comprises a medication dispensing device which has a plurality of medication storage containers each of which configured to store one medication therein; a dispensing cup; and a plurality of physical control mechanism to warrant the dose is correctly dispensed and sending alerts to the remote app; and a remote app or web page that allows an end user or a remote caregiver to create and change a dose per medication as well as a schedule for each medication dose, provides alerts and notifications, stores history of doses delivered and doses removed from the dispensing cup, and submits automatic refill requests when storage containers approach refill levels;

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    1. Field of the Invention 
         [0002]    This invention relates generally to medical field, and more particularly to medical pill dispensing system. 
         [0003]    2. Description of Related Art 
         [0004]    The present invention is intended to reduce complications of non-adherence to dose regiments of long term maintenance medication. Non-adherence to proper dosing results in hundreds of billions of dollars of cost in the US alone due to hospitalization, further complications of underlying conditions, and overdose, etc. 
         [0005]    Over 30% of individuals age 57 and older in the US take 5 or more prescription medications daily. As the population ages, this number will continue to grow. 
         [0006]    As people age it becomes more difficult to adhere to dosing regimens due to memory loss, deterioration of eyesight, deterioration of dexterity, etc. 
         [0007]    Medication dispensing system to receive, store, track and/or dispense one or more pills for a user are known in the prior art. More specifically, by way of example, U.S. PreGrant Publication No. 20100076595 to Nguyen discloses a smart pill dispenser used to receive, store, track and/or dispense one or more pills for a user. The dispenser may be capable of tracking information related to the pills. Moreover, the user may manually enter their prescription details or alternatively, the dispenser may include a reader capable of reading the specific code and retrieving the details. The dispenser may be capable of informing the user when to take their pills. The dispenser may either automatically or manually quantify the pills in the dispenser. 
         [0008]    U.S. PreGrant Publication No. 20090281657 to Gak discloses a medication reminder and dispensing system including a computing or electronic device for programming a medication regimen, such as a prescription, such as a prescription, a docking station or unit for downloading the medication regimen and storing a personal medicine container for holding a daily or weekly supply of the medication and receiving the medication regimen. The personal medicine container is carried by a user and includes an alarm for reminding the user to take or administer the medicine in accordance with the medication regime. 
         [0009]    WO 2012163710 to Schilling Harry discloses a medication dispensing apparatus comprising a housing and an integrated docking unit for accommodating a plurality of medication cartridge. Each medication cartridge has at least one container wheel with a plurality of sealed compartments for holding medication. The medication from the cartridge is transported by a transport unit to a dispensing duct from which it may be received by a patient. 
         [0010]    U.S. Pat. No. 5,907,493 to Boyer discloses a pharmaceutical dispensing system including a plurality of standardized or universal-type cells disposed in a large array called module. One or more modules may be disposed in a given pharmacy, and one or more pharmacies may be monitored by a central computer. 
         [0011]    U.S. Pat. No. 5,884,806 to Boyer et al. discloses a pill-dispensing system which has a number of standardized, or universal-type module. 
         [0012]    Each module has a rotating, helix-drive mechanism, which is rotationally controlled by a microprocessor. The helical-drive mechanism features several improvements, both in the drive mechanism and in the software control of the rotational drive system by the microprocessor that allows for the dispensing of pills of all shapes and sizes one at a time. 
         [0013]    U.S. Pat. No. 8,590,737 to Clark et al. discloses apparatus and process for the automated, singulated dispensing of articles. The apparatus is a canister which houses a screw having a channel of a certain width and depth that corresponds to the dimensions of a particular type. 
         [0014]    U.S. Pat. No. 8,009,040 to Kennedy discloses a medication dispensing system including a medication hopper, a dispensing mechanism that is configured that dispenses medicine from the hopper to a user and a processor. The processor is in communication with a communication network and is configured to generate instructions to the dispensing mechanism that cause the dispensing mechanism to dispense medications according to stored prescription and track an amount of medication in the medication hopper. If the amount is less than a predetermined threshold, then the processor is configured to send a message to a designated entity indicating that the amount of medication in the hopper is less than the threshold. 
         [0015]    U.S. Pat. No. 7,624,894 to Gerold et al. discloses a pill-dispensing apparatus for automatically dispensing solid pills includes a plurality of storage units and a pill dispensing module. The store units store pills in bulk and each include a hopper and an auger movably positioned with respect to the hopper. 
         [0016]    U.S. Pat. No. 5,042,685 to Moulding et al. discloses a dispensing having a compartment for detecting and counting the dispense objects especially adapted for dispensing medication and method of using the same. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0017]    In general the device will be similar in size to a Keureg coffee maker. Will be modular in the sense that additional medication storage containers can be purchased and added to the device as needed. 
         [0018]    Pills, tablets, capsules, caplets, gelcaps of any size or shape will be accommodated without the need for interchanging parts or components of the device. This is a key feature of the device. The ability to deliver the correct dose at the scheduled interval regardless of pill shape of size. 
         [0019]    There will be a remote app so that the end user or a remote caregiver can both create and change the dose per medication as well as the schedule for each medication dose. 
         [0020]    The app will also provide alerts, notifications and store history of doses delivered and doses removed from the dispensing cup, when storage containers approach refill levels. 
         [0021]    Controls are built in to eliminate risk of miss-dosing. 
         [0022]    The first control is a pill counting function utilizing a sensor which will count the pills dispensed by each storage container at each scheduled dose interval. 
         [0023]    The second control is a weighing mechanism that will weigh the total dispensed dose at each dose interval and compare to that interval&#39;s correct dose weight. 
         [0024]    If either of these controls indicates a miss-dose the medication will be routed to a secure storage area, alerts will be sent and a new dose will be dispensed. 
         [0025]    Other features will include battery backup, manual dose dispensing (for vacations, etc.), in home local alert mechanisms such as worn pendants or table top alarms, automated refills. 
         [0026]    Part of the offering is a subscription based service which includes: 
         [0027]    1) Cloud hosted database with: 
         [0028]    a. Prescription information, number of refills, filling pharmacy, prescribing doctors, etc. 
         [0029]    b. Automatic refill requests integrated with pharmacy systems or manually requested by remote monitoring pharmacists 
         [0030]    2) Remote monitoring service and in home visiting service by licensed pharmacists. 
         [0031]    The more important features of the invention have thus been outlined in order that the more detailed description that follows may be better understood and in order that the present contribution to the art may better be appreciated. Additional features of the invention will be described hereinafter and will form the subject matter of the claims that follow. 
         [0032]    Before explaining at least one embodiment of the invention in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and the arrangements of the components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced and carried out in various ways. Also it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein are for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting. 
         [0033]    As such, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the conception, upon which this disclosure is based, may readily be utilized as a basis for the designing of other structures, methods and systems for carrying out the several purposes of the present invention. It is important, therefore, that the claims be regarded as including such equivalent constructions insofar as they do not depart from the spirit and scope of the present invention. 
         [0034]    The foregoing has outlined, rather broadly, the preferred feature of the present invention so that those skilled in the art may better understand the detailed description of the invention that follows. Additional features of the invention will be described hereinafter that form the subject of the claims of the invention. Those skilled in the art should appreciate that they can readily use the disclosed conception and specific embodiment as a basis for designing or modifying other structures for carrying out the same purposes of the present invention and that such other structures do not depart from the spirit and scope of the invention in its broadest form. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0035]    Other aspects, features, and advantages of the present invention will become more fully apparent from the following detailed description, the appended claim, and the accompanying drawings in which similar elements are given similar reference numerals. 
           [0036]      FIG. 1  shows main components of the medication dispensing system of the present invention which will be further elaborated later. 
           [0037]      FIG. 2  is a block diagram showing a medication dispensing process utilizing the medication dispensing device. 
           [0038]      FIG. 3  is a 3D drawing of the main components of a device of the present invention. 
           [0039]      FIG. 4  is a list of features and commands for the remote app. 
       
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
       [0040]    The present invention is a system  1  comprising a medication dispensing device which can be locally managed by an end user and remotely managed by the end user and remote caregivers. The medication described herein includes but is not limited to pills, tablets, capsules, gelcaps, caplets, etc. For simplicity, sometimes “pills” is used to represent the group of medication. 
         [0041]      FIG. 1  shows main components of the medication dispensing system  1  of the present invention which will be further elaborated later. 
         [0042]      FIG. 2  is a block diagram showing a medication dispensing process utilizing the medication dispensing device  10 . 
         [0043]      FIG. 3  is a 3D drawing of the main components of the medication dispensing device  10  of the present invention. 
         [0044]    Referring to  FIGS. 1-3  there is disclosed a medication dispensing device  10  according to an embodiment of the present invention. The device  10  comprises medication tubes  11 , dispensing mechanism  12 , dose control mechanism including medication counting sensor  13  and weighing scale  14 , dispensing cup  15 , cup sensor  16 , and circuit board  17 . 
         [0045]    Each medication is stored in its own storage container  11 . Each tube  11  may hold up to a 90 day supply of a drug depending on size of the pill, capsule, caplet or gelcap. The device may have the capacity to hold up to ten storage containers  11  and therefore up to ten different medications. The dispensing mechanism  12  is illustrated below: each medication storage container  11  will house an auger/tube  18  and motor assembly  19  that will move the medication from the storage container  11  to a funnel  20 . The motors  19  will be connected to and controlled by the circuit board  17 , which is programmed to dispense the correct dosage at the correct interval. When medication is dispensed to funnel  20  the medication drops through the medication counting sensor  13 , which is connected to the circuit board  17 . When a pill dropped is sensed the circuit board  17  in turn stops the motor  19  for that particular storage container  11 . If another pill is required for that storage container at that interval then the motor  19  is started again. When all pills are dispensed for that storage container  11  the next motor  19  is started for the next storage container that requires dispensing for that interval. 
         [0046]    Additional control mechanism to warrant the right dose is provided and is illustrated below. A load cell  22  which is a weighing sensor  14  connected to the circuit board  17  will weigh the total dispensed weight for the particular dose interval and compare to the appropriate weight for that same dosage interval. 
         [0047]    When doses pass controls and are ready for delivery they are routed to a dispensing cup  15 . When the dispensing cup  15  is removed the cup sensor  16  will notify the circuit board  17 . 
         [0048]    As described in the foregoing paragraphs, the circuit board  17  is the brain of the device  10  which controls motors  19 , receives input from various sensors  13 ,  14 ,  16 , send output for alerts, update cloud database, etc. 
         [0049]    The device  10  further comprises Bluetooth  23  to send alerts to local devices  33  such as worn pendants. The device further comprises wireless  24  for remote communication, power supply battery backup  25  in case of power outage, removable top  26  to cover storage containers. 
         [0050]    The system  1  further comprises remote app  27  and web page  28  which provide means of managing the device  10  and receive alerts and notification from the device  10 . 
         [0051]    The system  1  will also link to large retail chain pharmacy prescription refill systems to send refill requests automatically. This process will occur in the hosted cloud portion  29  of the application  27  if subscribed to. 
         [0052]    The main controller which is the circuit board  17  will store a software program  30  which is the logic of the device  10 . This program  30  will control the physical parts of the device  10  including the motors  19  which drive the augers  18  of each storage container  11 . The program  30  will store the dosage and dispensing schedule for each storage container  11 . The program  30  will also accept input from the various sensors and load cell as well as accept input from the remote app. It will also send alerts and notifications to the remote app  27  as well as local devices  33 . 
         [0053]    When the program  30  determines based on the stored schedule that it is time for a dose to be dispensed it will send a command to the appropriate motor  19  to start. The motor  19  will turn it&#39;s auger  18  slowly until a pill is dropped into a funnel  20 . 
         [0054]    At the bottom of the funnel  20  is a pill counting sensor  13 , which may be a laser array sensor, photo-electric sensor, proximity sensor. When a pill passes through the sensor  13  the circuit board  19  receives the input and sends a command to the motor  19  that is running to stop. 
         [0055]    If the program  30  determines that another pill is required from the same storage container  11  for this dose then it will send a command to the same motor  19  to start. Otherwise it will move on to the next storage container  11  from which a pill is required for this dose until all the pills for the particular dose have been dispensed. 
         [0056]    If the sensor  13 ,  14  indicates an incorrect number of pills have been dispensed at any time during the dispensing process the program will stop. 
         [0057]    At this point the program  30  will execute a command to “dump” the pills dispensed to that point into an “error” storage bin  31  where they will be manually removed and returned to their respective storage containers. Alerts are also issued to the remote app and local devices  33 . 
         [0058]    A new dispensing cycle will begin once the dose in error has been “dumped”. 
         [0059]    When pills pass through the pill counting sensor they are stored in a temporary holding bin  32  which also has a load cell  22  attached for weighing the dispensed dose. 
         [0060]    When the program has completed the dispensing routine for a specific interval it will accept the input from the load cell. If the total weight of the dispensed dose is not equal to the total weight of the prescribed dose the dose will be “dumped” to the error bin  31 . 
         [0061]    If the total weight of the dispensed dose is equal to the stored total weight of the prescribed dose the dose is transferred to the final dispensing cup  15 . 
         [0062]    The program  30  will send alerts to the remote app  27  and local devices  33  when the dose is delivered to the final dispensing cup. 
         [0063]    When the cup  15  is removed another sensor which is called cup sensor  16  will send output to the program  30  and the program will send an alert to the remote app  27  and local devices  33 . 
         [0064]    All alert data is also sent to cloud hosted database  29  and remote monitoring system  34 . History of alerts, doses, doses in error, pill counts, remaining inventory counts, etc are all sent to the cloud hosted database  29 . Inventory counts are kept onboard as well. 
         [0065]      FIG. 4  is a list of features and commands for the remote app  27 . The features include scheduling, where the user can and remote caregiver set the day of the week (DOW) out of Sunday, Monday, all the way to Saturday (S, M, T, W, R, F, S) and set today (TOD) in military time or AM/PM. The user can set the dose by the following: set dose per tube/interval and set weight per dose interval. Interval here can be the number of pills dispensed per tube for each DOW and TOD. 
         [0066]    The tubes feature allows the user and remote caregiver to set the count of pills per tube (or sets the inventory of pills per tube), assign tube name (which may be the medication name), assign medication NDC (code) which will also act as unique ID to link to cloud database, and maintain refill count. 
         [0067]    The alerts feature alerts the user when count is low per tube, when the tube is empty, when doses delivered (this also makes the user aware that the inventory has been reduced), when dose removed, when wrong number delivered (this does not reduce inventory but keeps count of pills), when dose removed, when wrong number delivered (this does not reduce inventory but keeps count of pills in error bin), when wrong weight delivered (this also does not reduce inventory but keeps count of pills in error bin), when backup battery power is on, when backup battery power is low, when main electric power is back on, when pills added, when cap removed per tube, when housing top removed, when empty tube command is issued. 
         [0068]    The commands available for the device includes: submit schedule, change schedule, submit dose, change dose, empty tube, manual dose (the user specify the start DOW and number of days—reduces inventory, submit inventory, change inventory, submit weight, change weight, submit refill number, and change refill number. 
         [0069]    While there have been shown and described and pointed out the fundamental novel features of the invention as applied to the preferred embodiments, it will be understood that the foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the invention and not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise forms disclosed. 
         [0070]    Obvious modifications or variations are possible in light of the above teachings. The embodiments discussed were chosen and described to provide the best illustration of the principles of the invention and its practical application to enable one of ordinary skill in the art to utilize the invention in various embodiments and with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated All such modifications and variations are within the scope of the invention as determined by the appended claims when interpreted in accordance with the breadth to which they are entitled.